Montella says Turkiye has proved critics wrong

Turkiye coach Vincenzo Montella said his team, by defeating the Czech Republic 2-1 on Wednesday to reach the last 16, showed that criticism of its Euro 2024 performances was unfair.

Montella's side earned a tense victory over the 10-man Czechs to reach the knockout phase of a major tournament for the first time since a run to the Euro 2008 semifinals.

Turkiye, which has been roared on by vociferous support in Germany, had struggled in a 3-0 loss to Portugal last time out, putting its hopes of qualifying from Group F in peril.

"We are always focused and hardworking, we deserve this qualification," said Italian Montella.

"We have suffered some criticism that was not deserved, and we overcame that.

"I'm used to pressure, I don't mind it, but I don't like it when pressure is put on my players."

Turkiye will next face Austria in Leipzig on Tuesday for a place in the quarterfinals.

The Crescent Stars have made the semis on the last two occasions they reached the knockouts in major tournaments, after finishing third at the 2002 World Cup.

"Now, we have new goals," accepted Montella. "Tonight we just want to celebrate, we deserve it, there's been great sacrifice. But, starting tomorrow, we want to continue to make history."

Turkiye knew a draw against the Czechs in Hamburg would be enough to go through, but struggled to put the game to bed, despite having a one-man advantage for more than 70 minutes after Antonin Barak was sent off.

Hakan Calhanoglu gave Turkiye the lead, before Tomas Soucek gave the Czech Republic hope of snatching the win it needed to knock Turkiye out.

But Cenk Tosun finally finished off the match with an injury-time winner after a Turkiye counterattack.

"We played well, but we did not exploit the extra man enough," Montella said. "When we took the lead, we conceded a goal. We've suffered pressure in the last few days, and the team is very young.

"We could have suffered a bit less, but it makes our joy even greater."

AFP