THIS WAS MANIC and magnificent. Eighteen yellow cards, two reds, three goals and one dislocated shoulder. At the end of it all Türkiye triumphed 2-1 over Czechia, a game that highlights the intense contrasts that will now begin to define this tournament as we prepare to embrace the brutality of the knockout stages.
News of Georgia’s stunning 2-0 win over Portugal to book a place in the last 16 from this group only adds another historic layer to the drama. The Czech players were desolate when Cenk Tosun drilled in Türkiyes’s winner in the fourth minute of second-half injury time. When the camera flashed to their bench the physical toll was evident, goalkeeper Jindřich Staněk sitting there with his arm in a sling and a scowl on his face.
The No.1 was forced off with a dislocated shoulder after pulling off a fine save from Mert Müldür in the build up to Türkiye’s opener in the 51st minute. They sustained the pressure with the rebound and within a matter of seconds Hakan Çalhanoğlu arrowed a sensational shot from left to right in the box that would have beaten Staněk even were his arms bionic.
The strike from Çalhanoğlu, the Türkiye captain, could have easily continued to rise and possibly drift into the ether had a lesser player been in that position. Instead, the Inter Milan technician connected with such beautiful clarity that the ball simply glided with ruthless precision about one foot off the turf into the bottom corner. It was glorious and a.