Perhaps the best match of the day at Euro 2016 on Sunday is the early game. Turkey and Croatia have some big-time talent in their squads, and they’re difficult to separate.
Turkey vs. Croatia 2016: Time TV schedule and live stream for Euro 2016
One of the closest on-paper matchups of the group stage kicks off Sunday’s slate of games.
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If you’ve caught any of the major tournaments over the last eight years, you’ll be familiar with Croatia’s stars -- names like Luka Modrić, Ivan Rakitić and Darijo Srna. Turkey will lean on veteran Arda Turan, but also utilize some fresher faces like Hakan Çalhanoğlu and Ozan Tufan.
Croatia and Turkey each had rocky roads to qualifying for the finals. Turkey were in a qualifying group with the Czech Republic -- whom they’ll see again in this group at Euro 2016 -- Iceland and the Netherlands. The Turks finished third and avoided the playoff as the best third-placed team. Croatia also narrowly avoided the playoff, sneaking past Norway into second place in their qualifying group by one point.
What’s at stake
Both Turkey and Croatia will feel like they need all three points from this game to have a good chance at securing automatic qualification to the knockout stages. Spain is the big favorite in Group D, while the Czech Republic should present a serious challenge to everyone. Since one point from their remaining two games would be decent for both teams, they need to start with a win.
Key player -- Luka Modric
How to watch online: In the United States, you can find the game on the WatchESPN service. For listings from other countries, check out Live Soccer TV.
Match date/time: Sunday, 9 a.m. ET, 3 p.m. local
Venue: Parc des Princes, Paris, France
TV: ESPN (U.S. -- English), ESPN Deportes (U.S. -- Spanish), ITV (U.K.), TSN (Canada), HRT 2 (Croatia), TRT 1 (Turkey)
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