Turkey reaches Euro 2024 knockout round and eliminates Czech Republic in 2-1 win

HAMBURG, Germany (AP) — Cenk Tosun finally ended the tension when he scored in stoppage time to send Turkey into the knockout stage of the European Championship with a 2-1 win over 10-man Czech Republic on Wednesday.

With the Czechs chasing a goal that would have put them through at Turkey’s expense, Tosun, a substitute, eluded two exhausted defenders on the left and fired a fierce shot inside the far post.

It set off a wave of celebrations among most of the fans in Hamburg’s Volksparkstadion, though it also led to a flare-up between players and substitutes who had run onto the field. Czech forward Tomas Chory was shown a red card after the tumult, and team captain Tomas Soucek and Turkey’s Arda Guler were both shown yellow.

It had been a busy night for Romanian referee Istvan Kovacs, who sent off Czech midfielder Antonin Barak in the 20th minute. Barak earned his first yellow card for a tactical foul in the 11th, then the next for a stamp on Salih Ozcan’s foot.

It encouraged Turkey to attack in waves. Kenan Yildiz, Hakan Calhanoglu and Guler were causing serious problems for the Czech defense.

The Czech attack was without star player Patrik Schick, who failed to recover from a calf muscle injury. Schick was booked for protesting on the bench. It was to be his only contribution.

Calhanoglu broke the deadlock with a low shot inside the far post in the 51st. Czech goalkeeper Jindrich Stanek had made a brilliant save to deny Mert Muldur but wasn’t able to stretch for Calhanoglu’s powerful strike.

Stanek was unable to continue with an apparent shoulder injury from his initial save. Bayer Leverkusen reserve goalkeeper Matej Kovar went on in his place.

Soucek equalized in the 66th after a goalmouth scramble in which the ball was cleared off the line. A VAR check confirmed goalkeeper Mert Gunok was not unfairly hindered.

The Czechs needed another goal to progress, but Tosun’s late strike ended their hopes.

The Czech Republic finished bottom of Group F behind Georgia, which surprised group winner Portugal with a 2-0 win to progress as one of the best third-place teams.

Turkey finished runner-up with six points.

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AP Euro 2024: https://apnews.com/hub/euro-2024