Euro 2016: Turkey were ballsy, fierce and ruthless; the exact opposite of their opponents Czech

Czech Republic and Turkey met in the final Group D clash on Tuesday night, and although neither team has been playing anywhere close to their best, both had dim hopes of qualification for the knock-out stages of Euro 2016.

Pavel Vrba’s Czech side kept their hopes alive through an injury time equaliser against Croatia in their previous match after crowd trouble and flares disrupted the game. And though Vrba would thank the wastefulness of the Croats and the fans’ hooliganism for coming away with one point, the result surely would have lifted the team’s morale. Facing a hapless Turkey side that had lost both its opening two matches, they must have been in a confident mood with the momentum in their favour.

Faith Terim’s Turkey lost their opening game to Croatia 1-0 — and the deficit should have been much worse — and then conceded three times to Spain. They met Czech on Tuesday night with zero points and zero goals scored. But such was the nature of the competition that a win would still keep them in the mix of things.

In theory, both teams stood a chance to progress to the knockout rounds with a victory, but they both had to prove that they deserved to qualify. Something they were yet to do in their two opening matches against Spain and Croatia.

Incredibly, it is the Turks who are still alive in Euro 2016, following 90 minutes of football against Czech. A team that had lost its two opening matches and came into this match with a goal difference of minus four is still alive in Euro 2016. They put their past performances behind them and played like a team full of confidence. The crowd helped too, and it almost felt like a home game for the Turks at times.

But it really was testament to Fatih Terim’s experience and his gamble of appealing to his side’s attitude that worked in their favour. A perusal of Czech’s opening two results would seem to suggest they just about failed to make the cut. They lost to Spain due to a last-minute goal and drew against Croatia after being 2-0 down. On paper, they might have looked like they just fell at the last hurdle. But anyone who has watched them must have seen how poor they have been and how their football has continuously left a lot to be desired.

In the first two games, Vrba’s approach was conservative and the deficit could have been much worse but for some good defending on their part and wastefulness from their opponents. Against Turkey, they had to show more positivity, take the game to the opposition and create more chances. And they had to do all this with their opponents trying to do the same. They needed footballing and a character masterclass against Turkey. They showed neither.

They started quickly but were immediately on the back foot, as Turkey began threatening with their counterattacks. Arda Turan looked threatening for the first time this tournament and he released 18-year-old Emre Mor, who squared it for Burak Yilmaz to give the Turks the lead. The Czechs were themselves wasteful after that, especially when Pavel Kadeřábek and Volkan Babacan missed glorious chances. As the Czechs missed the chances that came their way, Turkey looked more and more threatening, and their counterattacks were consistently brilliant. It was actually just a matter of time before they were celebrating again, and they did just that in the 65th minute, when Ozan Tufan struck the ball in the back of the net, the excitement was palpable.

Mor deserves special praise. Borussia Dortmund snapped up the player before the tournament and Thomas Tuchel must be beaming with pride right now. The 18-year-old made history on Tuesday and became the the third youngest player in a European Championship to assist a goal. While that is just a number, it is his overall performance that should remain in books. The young star was absolutely fantastic on the night and was indeed Turkey’s “savior”. Making his first start of the tournament, the player was electric on the ball.

Turkey have done their job and will now wait for the rest of the results to see if they have any chance of progressing further. If Hungary beat Portugal and the Republic of Ireland and Sweden are unable to win their matches against Italy and Belgium, Turkey will have secured the most unlikely of second round spots.

Both the countries’ fans had demanded a response to their sides’ abject performances, but only one football side responded. The Turks were ballsy, fierce and ruthless on the night, a complete opposite of their opponents.