World Cup playoffs: Arda Guler magic helps Turkey edge past Romania

• Playoff semi-final Turkey 1-0 Romania

• Ferdi Kadioglu’s strike set up by Real Madrid midfielder

Turkey moved within one game of ending their long World Cup absence as Ferdi Kadioglu’s second-half goal secured a 1-0 win over Romania in their playoff semi-final after a moment of brilliance from Arda Guler.

In a high-stakes encounter at Besiktas Stadium, the deadlock was broken in the 53rd minute when the Real Madrid midfielder Guler produced a superb defence-splitting pass to pick out Kadioglu, who controlled and finished calmly to give the hosts the lead.