This was the beginning of a new era for the hosts after Sergen Yalcin’s appointment last month, and the Crescent Stars seemed keen to impress their new boss with some lovely free-flowing football in the opening exchanges.
That promising start could have easily been undone if referee Sandro Scharer had chosen to penalise Merih Demiral for pulling back Nathan Ngoy in the box, but Arda Guler gave Turkey a well-deserved 20th-minute lead in emphatic fashion.
Nicolas Raskin fouled him on the edge of the box, and the Real Madrid starlet responded with a sublime free-kick that nestled in the top corner past an outstretched Senne Lammens.
However, the demons of what has been a bruising Nations League campaign came to the fore once again for this Turkey side, as they relinquished their lead a mere seven minutes later.
Jeremy Doku easily bamboozled Oguz Aydin on the left-hand side and teed up Kevin De Bruyne for a clinical first-time finish into the roof of the net.
Charles De Ketelaere completed the turnaround three minutes later following some woeful defending by the hosts, as Ugurcan Cakir saved Diego Moreira’s initial effort before Maxim De Cuyper teed up the Atalanta forward for an easy finish in a very open first half.
The Red Devils had the bit between their teeth after the restart, with further chances falling to De Bruyne and Doku, before Cakir was called into action to deny De Ketelaere a second goal on the night. Yalcin’s side threatened a sucker punch, though, with Lammens reacting quickly to keep out Baris Yilmaz’s strike at the end of a swift counterattack.
And while the deficit remained at one, the Crescent Stars sensed an opportunity to strike late on when Deniz Gul’s effort forced a fine save from Lammens.
Ultimately, there would be no further goals in Izmir, with the result ensuring that Yalcin begins his tenure with a defeat, leaving Turkey’s League A status in severe jeopardy. Meanwhile, these three points for Belgium see them leapfrog Italy into second place ahead of the Azzurri’s clash with France later on Thursday evening.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Arda Guler (Turkey)
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