Turkey suffers heavy defeat to Portugal, takes qualification hopes to final match

Our National Football Team, facing Portugal in the second match of Group F at the 2024 European Championship, was defeated 3-0 by its opponent, leaving its chances of reaching the round of 16 to the final match.

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Turkey suffers heavy defeat to Portugal, takes qualification hopes to final match

The National Football Team faced Portugal in the second match of Group F at the 2024 European Football Championship (EURO 2024).

The match, which began at 19:00 at the BVB Stadium, was officiated by German referee Felix Zwayer. Stefan Lupp and Marco Achmüller served as assistants to Felix Zwayer.

In a match where a win would have guaranteed us a spot in the knockout stage as group leaders, the Crescent-Stars were defeated 3-0 by their opponent, carrying their hopes for the round of 16 into the final match.

Portugal's goals came from Bernardo Silva, Samet Akaydın (own goal), and Bruno Fernandes.

CURRENT STANDINGS IN GROUP F

In the other match of the group earlier in the day, Georgia and Czechia drew 1-1, and the standings after the second round of matches are as follows:

1) PORTUGAL - 6 POINTS

2) TURKEY - 3 POINTS

3) CZECHIA - 1 POINT

4) GEORGIA - 1 POINT

HOW CAN TURKEY QUALIFY?

Our National Team, which will face Czechia in its final group match, will definitely secure a spot in the round of 16 if it defeats its opponent. In the event of a draw, they will wait for Georgia to drop points against Portugal.

NOTABLE COMMENTS FROM MONTELLA

National Team Head Coach Vincenzo Montella, who became the target of criticism following the defeat to Portugal, made notable statements in his post-match remarks.

Refusing to respond to the incident between Samet Akaydın and Altay Bayındır, Montella answered the question as follows:

"It would be better if we talk about the match. We didn't play a bad game. We were very close to scoring in the first 20 minutes. If you don't find a goal against opponents at this level in the opening minutes, it becomes difficult. After the first goal, morale dropped, and just as we were trying to recover, the second goal came... We tried to rally and fought until the end."

"THE COACH BECOMES THE ENEMY"

"We have three good goalkeepers. Altay Bayındır performed well in the Italy match. He also came on in the Wales match and was good. We woke up this morning to Mert Günok's injury. Altay was also good in the Germany match. All three of our goalkeepers are good. When things go wrong, the first enemy becomes the National Team coach. I am aware of this. When making decisions, I apply what I know."

"I AM SORRY ABOUT ARDA GÜLER"

"İsmail Yüksek is returning from a very serious injury. He is not ready to play 90 minutes. 45 minutes is different, 0 minutes is different. We gave him time, we waited until the end. I am sorry about Arda Güler. Arda was tired and there was a risk of injury. I thought about it when I was bringing him on, wishing I hadn't. I brought him on with the thought that we might score a goal when it was 3-0."

"OUR SELF-CONFIDENCE HAS NOT DIMINISHED"

"Our path is still long. We trust each other. That is why our self-confidence has not diminished in any way, we continue."

WE SCORED AN OWN GOAL

The National Football Team fell behind 2-0 in the 29th minute against Portugal. A major error in the goal we conceded left its mark on the tournament.

Samet Akaydin wanted to pass the ball to goalkeeper Altay Bayındır while in a comfortable position. At that moment, Altay, not expecting the ball to come to him, missed the ball as it went past him, and it ended up in our net, resulting in Samet Akaydin scoring an own goal.

THE ONLY TEAM TO WIN ALL ITS MATCHES

With this result, Portugal managed to become the only team to win both of the matches it played in EURO 2024.

HAMİT ALTINTOP AND RONALDO CHATTED

Before the match between Turkey and Portugal, National Teams Director Hamit Altıntop and Portugal's star Cristiano Ronaldo had a conversation.

Hamit Altıntop and Ronaldo, who met at the team entrance area and were former teammates at Real Madrid, chatted, and Pepe, who once played for Beşiktaş, also greeted Altıntop.

GREAT ENTHUSIASM AT BVB DORTMUND STADIUM

The stands were completely full for the match played between Turkey and Portugal.

Turkish fans occupied a large portion of the BVB Dortmund Stadium. Fans in the stands, wearing the crescent-star jerseys and waving flags, gave great support to the national team.

News Source: 12punto