For more than 70 minutes at Hamburg's Volksparkstadion, the Czechs were down to one man – yet they kept their hopes of taking the lead alive until the end. Spectators were able to enjoy a knife-edge game that lived less on technical prowess and more on tension and drama.
However, the exhausted Czechs were no longer able to score a lucky hit. On the contrary, Cenk Tosun sealed the deal in the fourth minute of stoppage time with a powerful low shot into the far corner of the goal. This means that Turkey finally got the ticket to qualify for the knockout stage, while the Czech Republic's adventure in the European Nations Cup is over.
Barack flies early
The match could have taken a different path if Antonin Barak had been more skilled. The Czech midfielder received two yellow cards (fully deserved) from referee Istvan Kovacs within nine minutes. After only 20 minutes he went to the bathroom.
However, the Czechs were closer to taking the lead in the first half. David Jurasek had the best chance to break the spell on the counter-attack shortly before the half-time whistle when he appeared alone in front of the Turkish goalkeeper. Mert Günok cleverly shortened the angle and deffused the bullet.
Türkiye has been a disappointment for a long time
Ivan Hasek's side wasted two promising chances before being sent off: Lukas Provod forced Gunuk into a save after just 117 seconds; Fifteen minutes later, Ruben Hranac nodded over from a promising position.
Surprisingly, the Turks came up with little in the first half. Arda Guler missed the Euro 2008 semi-finalists' best chance when his side kick was blocked by a Czech defender.
A quick start – then fear
While Vincenzo Montella's side were sleepy before half-time, they got off to a lively start after that: Hakan Calhanoglu ended a furious period of pressure with a powerful shot across the pitch to make it 1-0.
Anyone who thought that the Turks would now achieve a confident victory was disappointed. The Czechs also gained morale from this blow to the neck – and they were rewarded for it. In the 66th minute, Tomas Soucek succeeded in following up the score after the uncertainty of Gunok – 1:1.
And this is how it continues
While the Czech Republic returns home, Türkiye will face Austria in the round of 16. The match will take place on Tuesday, July 2 at 9:00 p.m.
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