Italian referee Fabio Maresca blows his whistle and it's Wales captain Aaron Ramsey who takes kick off.

We're under way!

Thumbs up or down?

Image source, BBC Sport

Philip Marsh
BBC Sport Wales at Samsun Yeni 19 Mayis Stadyumu

Huge Turkish banners are unveiled in the crowd as the players come out onto the pitch.

As the music quietens - finally - the travelled Red Wall of Welsh fans respond with a chant of their own which does not go down well with the home crowd.

Some atmosphere here in Samsun.

Image source, Getty Images

Want some more stats?

• Wales have won four of their previous seven meetings with Turkey (D1 L2), winning the most recent game 2-0 in Baku at Euro 2020.

• Turkey lost 2-0 at home against Croatia in their first home European Championship qualifier of this campaign - they haven't lost consecutive home qualifiers within the same campaign since losing to Poland, England and the Republic of Ireland in Euro 1992 qualifying.

• Wales' 4-2 defeat by Armenia last time out was the first time in 49 qualifying matches (including play-offs) they conceded four goals or more in a game since losing 6-1 against Serbia in 2012.
• Including play-off matches, Wales have only failed to score in one of their past 18 qualifiers for the World Cup and European Championship, doing so in a goalless draw at home against Estonia in September 2021.
• Cengiz Under has been involved in 14 goals in his past 16 appearances for Turkey, scoring seven and assisting seven.
• Brennan Johnson has been involved in four goals in his past six starts for Wales (two goals, two assists), setting up Dan James' opener against Armenia last time out.

Image source, Getty Images

The players are out on the pitch. Time for the anthems.

Not long now.

Philip Marsh
BBC Sport Wales at Samsun Yeni 19 Mayis Stadyumu

It is already pitch black outside the stadium here in Samsum, with local time in Turkey fast approaching 22:00.

It will not be far off midnight when the final whistle is blown, a late night for all involved.

The lateness has not had an impact on the atmosphere however, as what appears to be the same three Turkish songs blast around the arena on repeat.

Not sure the DJ has any control of the volume too, much longer in the top tier of the stadium underneath these blaring speakers and everyone's ears will be ringing all evening.

If Wales are going to repeat that result from 2021, they'll need a massive improvement on their recent form.

The stats do not make for pleasant reading for Robert Page and his players.

Image source, BBC Sport

Manager Robert Page and captain Aaron Ramsey underline the areas in which Wales must improve against Turkey.

Helen Ward
Former Wales striker on BBC Radio Wales

Nobody went in to Friday expecting anything less than a Welsh win, it is a difficult one to take.

We are without the superstar names, the likes of Gareth Bale and Joe Allen, now we have to find a new talisman.

That's not the last time Wales faced Turkey, though.

That was at the postponed Euro 2020 two years ago.

On that occasion in Baku, Azerbaijan, goals from Aaron Ramsey and Connor Roberts - both assisted by Gareth Bale - gave Wales a 2-0 win which took them a long way towards securing their place in the knockout stages.

Take yourself back to that moment with the match report.

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

Philip Marsh
BBC Sport Wales at Samsun Yeni 19 Mayis Stadyumu

The Wales players were greeted with a chorus of boos as they walked out onto the pitch for their warm up.

There is no music being played ahead of the match here in Samsun, so every pre-match chant and jeer can be heard throughout the stadium.

Former Wales striker Iwan Roberts was not impressed by what Robert Page had to say.

Roberts was stunned by his former team-mate's assessment of such a "shocking" display that has left Wales facing an "almost impossible task" to qualify.

The result saw Wales drop to third - now fourth - in Group D before Monday's crucial match away to leaders Turkey.

"I don't agree with Rob's comments... why do Wales need a slap in the face?" Roberts told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast.

"We've only got eight games in this campaign. It's not a league season of 46 games where you can afford one or two blips. It was a shocking result.

"We started well and scored a good goal but then for some reason, as an XI, we just got deeper and deeper, gave away possession far too easily and gave Armenia a pathway back.

"We've just made Armenia look like Argentina."

Robert Page also described that Armenia result as the "slap" his team might need.

"Everything happens for a reason. Perhaps this is the slap we need, a little bit of a reality check," he said.

"Everybody's getting starry-eyed and carried away. Yes, we've had a great start in March but there's no bad teams now anymore.

"I felt such in a positive place before the game, full of confidence, and I didn't see that coming. That's really shocked me as much as anyone else."

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

This is what Robert Page made of that defeat against Armenia.

So what happened on Friday night?

Robert Page and his players are probably still scratching their heads about it.

In short, they fell to one of their most humiliating defeats in recent memory as they threw away an early lead to lose 4-2 at home to Armenia, 71 places below Wales in the world rankings.

It was a chaotic game. If you missed it, or if you're a masochist who did watch, have a read of the match report here.

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency