Turkey Reaches Euro 2024 Knockout Round, Eliminates Czech Republic in 2-1 Win

Cenk Tosun ended the tension by scoring in stoppage time, sending Turkey into the knockout stage of the European Championship with a 2-1 victory over a 10-man Czech Republic on Wednesday.

The Czechs, in desperate need of a goal to advance at Turkey's expense, were thwarted when Tosun, a substitute, maneuvered past two tired defenders on the left and unleashed a fierce shot inside the far post.

“This is just the start,” Tosun said. “I'm delighted with my goal. We spoke about it beforehand, how this is exactly the time for it.”

Celebrations erupted among the fans at Hamburg's Volksparkstadion, though a flare-up occurred between players and substitutes who had rushed onto the field. Czech forward Tomas Chory received a red card after the tumult, and team captain Tomas Soucek and Turkey's Arda Guler were both shown yellow cards.

Romanian referee Istvan Kovacs had a busy night, sending off Czech midfielder Antonin Barak in the 20th minute and issuing 18 yellow cards overall. Barak earned the first yellow for a tactical foul in the 11th minute and the second for a stamp on Salih Ozcan's foot.

“I only saw him in the break,” Czech coach Ivan Hasek said of Barak. “He was sad, with his head in his hands. He really punished himself by beating himself up about it.”

The sending off encouraged Turkey to launch repeated attacks. Kenan Yildiz, Hakan Calhanoglu, and Guler posed significant challenges for the Czech defense.

The Czech attack lacked star player Patrik Schick, who failed to recover from a calf muscle injury. Schick was booked for protesting from the bench, his only contribution to the match.

Yildiz was booked for a stamp on Robin Hranac in the 37th minute and narrowly escaped another yellow card after catching Vladimir Coufal in the face with his elbow. The referee missed the second incident.

Calhanoglu broke the deadlock with a low shot inside the far post in the 51st minute. Czech goalkeeper Jindrich Stanek made a brilliant save to deny Mert Muldur but couldn't reach Calhanoglu's powerful strike.

Stanek had to leave the match due to an apparent shoulder injury from his initial save, and Bayer Leverkusen reserve goalkeeper Matej Kovar replaced him.

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

The Czechs needed another goal to advance, but Tosun's late strike dashed their hopes.

“It's disappointing. We all wanted to advance. We had a goal to beat them from the start but we didn't make it, that's disappointing,” Soucek told the Czech public broadcaster.

Soucek acknowledged the challenge of playing with a man down and regretted the goals conceded by his team.

“We all did the maximum,” he added. “I have to thank all my teammates. It's just a sad end.”

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.