Sports writers comment on Turkey's magnificent victory over Latvia: Montella's men

Our National Football Team defeated Latvia 4-0 in the EURO 2024 Qualifiers. Sports writers evaluated the Turkey-Latvia match.

CEM DİZDAR: LEARNING WHILE WINNING!

Finally, Yunus Akgün, the most active among the static players up front, finished the job with a clean strike. Then, who knows what happened! Perhaps a 'self-confidence issue'! Our guys retreated into their own half. Yet, on the contrary, Latvia was coming forward for the first time since the beginning of the match after the goal, and their attacking areas were becoming even more apparent. I think defensive anxiety prevailed, and after the mid-60s, a nervous retreat began to show itself. By the 82nd minute, Özkan Öztürk had said, 'But we are not comfortable,' when Samet's pass came, and Cenk headed it in to close the matter! Now, what needs to be thought about is what happened between the 65th and 82nd minutes? Indeed, when everything was going well, why did the game break down in that interval, and if a goal had been conceded during that breakdown, which was a possibility, would the problem have been resolved with that 'state of mind'? It is unknown, of course. The matter was closed when the Croatia match ended, but I think this match was very instructive in terms of showing the problems we need to solve for the 2024 European Championship. Defeats certainly teach, but what you learn from some victories carries you into the future. (Fanatik)

BÜLENT TİMURLENK: AS BIG AS OUR DREAMS

The first half was goalless, but there were enough chances and excitement on the pitch. There was an opponent in front of us against whom, if we found the first goal, the rest would follow. Yunus's control and volley were terrific, and the control and cross by Samet, who put the ball on Cenk's head, were magnificent. Then came the goals by Kerem and Cenk that determined the score. Montella showed once again yesterday how skilled he is at tinkering with the pieces in the second half to find the score and after the 15-minute period where we were overwhelmed. Congratulations on the ticket to Germany. After the poor football we played in the last two European Championships, I hope our football will be as big as our dreams this June. (Sabah)

SERKAN AKCAN: TERRIFIC FINALE

To tell the truth, we started the second half with problems as well. Ferdi came out, Zeki came in, Kerem remained far from the ball on the left wing, Barış Alper's struggle against the center-backs tired him out extra, and Salih played consecutively with İsmail in the center. Just as Montella was about to bring on Cenk Tosun and Eren Elmalı, Yunus Akgün's goal, which changed the entire scenario, came. The substitution was postponed, the team gained self-confidence, but this time we were subjected to Latvia's surprising pressure. After Cenk Tosun came on, we were able to reach the comfort of playing with an original center-forward on the pitch. When Cenk converted Samet's clever feint and subsequent cross into a goal, he pulled the plug on the match. On top of that, the goals by Kerem and Cenk Tosun completed the show. We have guaranteed our participation in the European Championship; we are in Germany in the summer of 2024. (Fanatik)

FATİH DOĞAN: TIME TO CELEBRATE

EURO 2024 is in Germany, that is, at our home. And last night, with the victory we achieved against Latvia once again in the magnificent fan atmosphere of Konya, we said, 'We are there.' It is more different and more meaningful than the 5 championships we have participated in before. Thank you, Vincenzo Montella, thank you, National Team. This nation will kiss your foreheads, and Europe, especially Germany, will embrace you... Did you say the game? Does the importance of the details remain? We could have started with Cenk Tosun, who scored two goals against Latvia, which left the ball to us and closed down. We could have started with a more offensive left-back instead of Cenk Özkaçar on the left. However, these are details. Let the stress we experienced until the opponent broke down be a good luck charm. Let the critical save Uğurcan made be a badge of honor. It is time to celebrate. Time to embrace. Time to cheer up Germany at EURO 2024 and to invigorate the Turks in Europe. Time to bring good play together with beautiful results, love with enthusiasm, and the Crescent-Star flags together with Europe. (Sabah)