TURKEY REACHED THE knockout phase at a major tournament for the first time in 16 years after a bad-tempered 2-1 win over a battling 10-man Czechia at Euro 2024 this evening. Vincenzo Montella’s Turkey finished second in Group F behind Portugal to progress, as the Czechs were eliminated despite a brave performance on a sweltering night in Hamburg. Georgia also went through as one of the best third-placed teams after a stunning 2-0 win over Portugal in the group’s other final game, eliminating Hungary.
Turkey will face Austria in the last 16 in Leipzig on Tuesday, their first major tournament knockout match since the Euro 2008 semi-finals when they were beaten by Germany. The Czechs were reduced to 10 men in the 20th minute when Antonin Barak was given the earliest red card in Euros history, beating the unwanted record set by France’s Eric Abidal in 2008. Barak’s pair of bookings were two of 18 yellow cards shown in total, with Tomas Chory also shown red after the final whistle in ugly scenes.
Hakan Calhanoglu powered Turkey into a 51st-minute lead, but Tomas Soucek lashed in an equaliser midway through the second half. A frantic finale to the game ensued as the Czech Republic pushed for the winner that would take them through, but Cenk Tosun ended their hopes on the counter-attack in added time. There were ugly scenes at the final whistle as fans ran onto the pitch, with Czech forward Chory given a red card in the aftermath.
The Czechs started strongly despite the tens.
