Although Turkey saw the majority of ball possession, goals from Ivica Olic, Mario Mandzukic and Vedran Corluka stunned the Turks and left their coach Guus Hiddink hidden helpless in his dugout before an hour was up.

It took only two minutes for Croatia to take control of  the game. Olic tapped into an open net after a superb Corluka's cut-back on two minutes. Turkey fought back, and although it dominated possession, the holes in its defense were still plain to see. Less than a minute after Hamit Altintop’s cross almost found Burak Yilmaz, Ivan Rakitic was afforded too much space and flashed a shot wide from distance.

As the game wore on, Turkey’s midfield players became more and more careless in possession. They were soon punished for their lack of incisiveness.

Luka Modric collected the ball on the right, floated in a cross to Mandzukic on the left, who beat Gokhan Gonul in the air, and headed the ball past Volkan Demirel, who made little or no effort to keep it out of his goal.

Turkey’s misery was complete in the second half as Corluka made it 3-0 in the 51st minute, escaping his marker and heading in from close range from a free-kick whipped in by Srna.

Turkey coach Guus Hiddink has taken full responsibility for his side's humiliating home defeat . 'I think it's very important that the players play for their honour, for themselves, for their country, because let's face facts, it's difficult, almost impossible to qualify', Hiddink concluded the evening.  

The return leg will be in Zagreb on 15 November.

Turkey: Demirel, Gonul (Tore 46), Kacar, Korkmaz, Balta, Altintop, Sarioglu, Inan (Topal 69), Belozoglu, Turan, Yilmaz (Bulut 81)

Croatia: Pletikosa, Corluka, Schildenfeld, Simunic, Vida, Srna, Dujmovic, Rakitic (Pranjic 83), Modric, Olic (Jelavic 85), Mandzukic (22-Eduardo 90).