Portugal tops Turkey to earn place in Euros knockout round

Portugal dominated Turkey on Saturday to book their place in the knockout round of the 2024 Euros. A Seleção das Quinas controlled the flow of the match throughout the afternoon, but were also aided by some key mistakes by Turkey’s defense.

The two teams entered the match as co-leaders of Group F in the competition. Turkey, however, previously held a minor advantage over the 2016 Euro champions due to holding a better goal differential.

Georgia and the Czech Republic previously played out to a 1-1 draw just prior to the afternoon fixture. As a result, the winner of the Turkey-Portugal matchup would take a stranglehold on the group.

Portugal takes two-goal lead into halftime due to Turkish blunder

After a fairly even start to the match, Portugal would take a lead in the 21st minute thanks to a goal by Bernardo Silva. Rafael Leao started the opportunity with a clever run down the left flank. The winger then found an overlapping Nuno Mendez inside the Turkish box.

Mendez subsequently pulled back a dangerous pass towards the center of the area. The ball clipped off of a defender and fell straight to the Manchester City star. Silva did not waste time and hit a quick shot just out of the reach of goalkeeper Altay Bayındır. It was the midfielder’s first goal for country at a major tournament.

Portugal then doubled their lead in bizarre fashion just eight minutes later. Turkish defender Samet Akaydin, despite not being under pressure at all, attempted to play a pass back to Bayındır.

The keeper, however, moved away from goal and towards his defensive teammate. Akaydin, unaware of the shot-stopper’s movement, played the ball across the line for an own goal. It was just the second such goal from outside of the penalty area in Euros history.

The match was disrupted on numerous occasions near the end as multiple pitch invaders ran onto the field of play

The match was disrupted on numerous occasions near the end as multiple pitch invaders…

Source link : https://worldsoccertalk.com/uefa-euro/portugal-tops-turkey-to-earn-place-in-euros-knockout-round/

Author : Chris Moore

Publish date : 2024-06-22 18:25:53

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