With reigning champions Spain in their quartet, both Turkey and Croatia will be looking on starting off their respective UEFA Euro 2016 campaigns off with a victory. The Crescent-Stars and the Vatreni are certainly no strangers to each other, and both will be eager to settle some old scores as they square off at the Parc des Princes on Sunday.

Turkey

Turkey will be making their appearance at a Euro tournament, but qualification for this summer’s edition did not start off on a good footing. In fact, Fatih Terim’s men lost their opening two matches, but managed to rebound by fighting to a 1-1 draw against Latvia, and this sparked an excellent run of form that saw them ultimately finish third in their group. As a result of being the best placed third-placed side overall, Turkey were able to secure their spot at what will be their fourth Euro tournament without going through the play-offs.

Terim’s side come into this match having won their last two friendlies against Montenegro and Slovenia. Although they were by narrow 1-0 results, Turkey have been in an excellent vein of form as of late. In fact, their defeat to England on May 22nd was the first time they had lost a match, starting from November 16, 2014 when they beat Kazakhstan 3-1 in a Euro 2016 qualifying match.

Arguably, the biggest star for the team will be skipper Arda Turan, and Terim will be relying on the 29-year-old to keep things ticking in the middle of the park as Turkey hope to make a splash in their first international tournament in eight years.

Barcelona’s Turan will be the go-to man for Turkey as they aspire to navigate their way through a tricky group stage campaign

Croatia

Meanwhile, Croatia also will be seeking to hit the ground running. The Vatreni are making their fifth appearance at at Euro tournament and arrive in France having also won their last two friendlies, but this includes a record 10-0 win over minnows San Marino. Since taking over, Ante Čačić has yet to lose a match as he steered Croatia to a second-placed finish in their qualifying group.

In 2012, Croatia were knocked out of the group stage. Four years prior to that, they made it to the quarter-finals, and this time around, they will be expected to at least make it to the first knockout rounds. With a slew of highly experienced players – including three Champions League winners – within the squad, pressure will be on Čačić and his men to make an impact in France.

Ivan Rakitić and Mario Mandžukić are two of the players Croatia will be counting on heavily at this summer’s Euro competition…

…as well as midfield magician Luka Modrić, who is just coming off a Champions League winning campaign with Real Madrid

Interestingly, the last time Croatia featured in an international competition hosted in France, it proved to be a good campaign for them. The Vatreni made an impressive run at the 1998 World Cup, which ultimately saw them finish in third place, and to date, that is their best ever performance at a major football tournament.

So far, Croatia have managed to avoid defeat in nine out of their last ten matches across all competitions, and have also kept a clean sheet in their last three meetings with Turkey. Who will come out on top this time in this clash between two familiar foes?

Turkey vs Croatia – Did you know?

• This will be the third Euro meeting between Turkey and Croatia, and second time they will face off in the group stages
• Their first meeting took place on June 11, 1996, in which the Vatreni beat the Crescent-Stars 1-0
• The second meeting took place on June 20, 2008 during the quarter-finals; Turkey came out on top after winning 3-1 in a penalty shoot-out
• Croatia also faced Turkey during their Euro 2012 qualifiers (in November 2011), and won 3-0 on aggregate. Two of the goalscorers, Vedran Ćorluka and Mario Mandžukić are still with the squad
• Turkey have never beaten Croatia in regulation or extra time. Their record stands as four draws and two losses
• Fatih Terim was on the tactician’s bench during Turkey’s first meeting with Croatia 20 years ago…
• …and again in charge during their impressive Euro 2008 campaign