Czechia 1-2 Turkiye: Late Tosun winner makes sure of last-16 place

Cenk Tosun’s late strike made sure of Turkiye’s date with Austria in the knockout stages of Euro 2024 after finishing second in Group F following their 2-1 win over 10-man Czechia.

Hakan Calhanoglu’s first major tournament goal gave Vincenzo Montella’s men the lead after Antonin Barak saw red early on, only for Tomas Soucek to respond for a Czechia side who needed all three points.

But substitute Tosun would have the final say, firing into the bottom corner in the 94th minute, with ugly scenes following the full-time whistle as Tomas Chory also saw red after a feisty encounter in Hamburg.

Czechia finished bottom of the group as Georgia advanced following their 2-0 win over Portugal in Gelsenkirchen.

The opening exchanges saw both sides start nervously, and perhaps the key moment came in the 19th minute when Barak, who had been shown a yellow card nine minutes earlier, was given his marching orders after a late challenge on Salih Ozcan. It was the earliest red card in Euros history.

Despite Turkiye’s man advantage, Czechia’s rearguard action restricted them to very little, with the first half ending with more bookings than shots on target.

Czech Republic’s job has been made trickier after Antonín Barák became just the second player to be sent off at Euro 2024, and the first since the opening game of the tournament.

Turkey didn’t have a shot on target in the first half, though.#CZETUR #Euro2024 pic.twitter.com/BdR5DzFRk2

— Opta Analyst (@OptaAnalyst) June 26, 2024

However, Montella’s side came out firing after the break, with their fast start rewarded as Calhanoglu rifled home moments after seeing Kenan Yildiz denied by Jindrich Stanek.

That joy was short-lived as Soucek fired Czechia level, with Mert Gunok’s appeals for a foul by Chory in the build-up dismissed following a VAR review.

Turkiye were still on course for the last 16 with a draw, though, and Tosun made sure after his introduction from the bench, smashing beyond substitute goalkeeper Matej Kovar in the closing seconds.

Data Debrief: Tosun sparks Turkish delight in Hamburg

Tosun, sent on with 15 minutes to play, had only four touches, but the telling one in stoppage time put the final stamp on Turkiye’s passage to the last 16.

The win for Turkiye saw them progress from the group stage at the Euros for the first time since 2008, having previously been eliminated in the 2016 and 2020 editions.