UEFA EURO 2024 Group F
Czech Republic………..1
Turkey………………………2
Cenk Tosun’s last-minute goal secured a victory for Turkey over a Czechia team that had ten players, allowing Turkey to advance to the round of 16. Czechia started the game by pressing high into Turkey’s half, as both teams were still in contention for the round of 16, but only Ivan Hašek’s team needed a win.
In a display of their determination, both coaches chose to field refreshed attacking lines. Vincenzo Montella decided to play 19-year-old duo Arda Güler and Kenan Yıldız, and after 13 minutes, Arda Güler found an opening in the middle but missed the target from the edge of the Czechia box.
When Antonín Barák received a second yellow card and was sent off after only 20 minutes – making it the earliest sending-off in EURO history – Turkey began to take control. Initially shaken, Czechia had to form a compact two-line defense as Vincenzo Montella’s team searched for a breakthrough.
However, just before the end of the first half and against the flow of the game, David Jurásek made a strong run towards the goal from the left side and unleashed a powerful shot that forced goalkeeper Mert Günok to dive low and maintain the equal score. Barış Alper Yılmaz and Kenan Yıldız quickly put pressure on Czechia in the second half. And a few minutes later, as the Czechs fought hard to defend against a relentless Türkiye, captain Hakan Çalhanoğlu struck the ball with great precision to beat Jindřich Staněk with a fierce shot – his first EURO goal in eight matches.
However, the courageous Czech team was not done yet. In an unexpected turn of events in the 66th minute, Mert Günok failed to catch a long pass from Czechia, and their inspirational captain, Tomáš Souček, was there to guide the ball into the net for an equalizer. The game was back on!
Both teams were determined to secure a victory, and as the match entered added time, substitute Cenk Tosun skillfully maneuvered past two defenders before finding the bottom corner of the net. Türkiye secured their spot in the round of 16 while Czechia exited EURO 2024.
Line-ups
Czechia: Staněk (Kovář 55); Holeš, Hranáč, Krejčí; Coufal, Souček, Provod (Lingr 75), D Jurásek (M Jurásek 81); Chytil (Kuchta 55), Barák, Hložek (Chorý 55)
Türkiye: Mert Günok, Mert Müldür, Samet Akaydin, Merih Demiral, Ferdi Kadıoğlu; İsmail Yüksek (Yokuşlu 63), Salih Özcan (Kaan Ayhan 46); Arda Güler (Cenk Tosun 75), Hakan Çalhanoğlu (Orkun Kökçü 87), Kenan Yıldız (Aktürkoğlu 75); Barış Alper Yılmaz
