Turkey advanced to the knockout stages of Euro 2024 after a thrilling 2-1 victory over Czechia, a result that eliminated the Czechs from the tournament.
Goals from Hakan Çalhanoğlu and Cenk Tosun secured the win for Turkey, while Czechia’s Tomas Soucek scored their lone goal before his teammate Antonin Barak was sent off in the first half.
This victory marked Turkey’s first advancement to the Last 16 since 2008. Under Vincenzo Montella’s guidance, Turkey only needed to avoid defeat to move forward, and their chances improved significantly when Barak received two yellow cards in quick succession, reducing Czechia to ten men in the 20th minute.
Turkey took the lead shortly after halftime when captain Hakan Çalhanoğlu scored a stunning first-time strike from the left side of the box in the 51st minute.
Czechia, however, equalized just past the hour mark due to an error by Turkish goalkeeper Mert Gunok, which allowed West Ham’s Tomas Soucek to score.
Despite intense pressure from Czechia in the closing stages, they could not find the goal needed to stay in the competition. Instead, substitute Cenk Tosun sealed the win for Turkey with a stoppage-time goal.
Turkey’s second-place finish in Group F was secured alongside Georgia, who surprisingly defeated group winners Portugal and advanced as one of the best third-placed teams.
Czechia, who had reached the quarter-finals in the previous Euros, finished at the bottom of the group and were eliminated.
Turkey will face Austria in the Last 16 next Tuesday.
