Sports writers evaluate the National Team's Montenegro defeat: 'Kuntz has possessed Montella'

The A National Team faced Montenegro in the Nations League match. Entering the final matches in the group as leaders, the National Team lost to their weak opponent and missed the chance to be promoted directly to League A.

Following the match, sports columnists evaluated the National Team's defeat.

It was as if Kuntz had possessed Montella

"What really saddened me yesterday was this: It seems that not only the sports public but also our players and our coach are unaware of the importance of the Nations League! Perhaps we couldn't read the game correctly in the first half yesterday, or perhaps the pitch and weather conditions were poor. These are understandable. However, it is unbelievable that Montella's first 3 substitutions were a center-back, a full-back, and a defensive midfielder, and that he did not bring on an attacking player until we were 3-1 down." (Uğur Meleke - Hürriyet)

There is no excuse for this

"Montella, don't you dare use the injured players as an excuse for the squad selection! My brother, you needed three points in this match. The pitch is heavy; why are you keeping players with high physical strength who can struggle with both the opponent and the pitch on the bench? Are Barış, Semih, or the natural striker Enes Ünal there for nothing? Plus, the Italian coach's starting eleven choice is full of mistakes." (Bilal Meşe - Milliyet)

So far with the game Montenegro wanted

"Even in a flow where we couldn't play our own game, we actually found positions and goals. Despite being ahead of our opponent in every attacking category on the statistics sheet, we couldn't get the score. If we could have made slightly more clinical shots around the penalty area, we could have moved on to waiting for our opponents in League A. We ended the Nations League group stage adventure, which we carried very well and which always promised something, with disappointment by adapting to bad conditions and the opponent, and gifting the leadership to Wales on a silver platter." (Engin Kehale - Hürriyet)

Dreams and the realities on the pitch!

"A situation emerged where we couldn't win the physical battle and couldn't prevent the counter-attacks the opponent made on the balls we lost. We came with big dreams, we returned with big disappointment. This match showed us the difference between what is imagined on paper and the reality on the pitch." (Ali Gültiken - Sabah)

This won't do, coach

"Montella choosing such a poor game plan on this pitch, and not giving up on this game despite everything being crystal clear in the very early minutes, caused the whole thing to be ruined." (Serkan Akcan - Fanatik)

We fell apart

"Montella had gone down in history as a coach who gave us many firsts. Last night, he signed off on another first by losing to Montenegro, who had never beaten us in history, at a time when we really needed to win, and he made us blush. It was truly a shameful night for Turkish football, what a pity... Honestly, we let the chance to be promoted to League A, which was right in our hands, slip away; now let's see how we struggle to get out of the play-offs..." (Tunç Kayacı - Fanatik)