A goal in each half has seen Turkey eliminate a poor Czech Republic after a 2-0 win in Lens.
It was Turkey who began with more intent and they broke the deadlock on nine minutes after Burak Yilmaz connected beautifully with an Emre Mor cross. The Czech’s then came into the match more and were unlucky to not draw level when a header from Tomas Sivok hit the post. Despite a few half chances they were unable to get an equaliser and went into half time trailing 1-0.
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS
The second half began in an end-to-end manner with both teams still needing goals, and Turkey doubled their lead on 64 minutes when Ozan Tufan fired home from 12 yards out amidst a goalmouth scramble. There were to be no more goals which means the Czech Republic finish bottom of Group D and are eliminated, meanwhile Turkey still have a chance of qualification as one of the best third placed teams.
Here’s a comprehensive overview of how every player rated:
Czech Republic
Petr Cech – 5: Had little to do but still conceded twice, not that he can be blamed for either of the goals.
Pavel Kaderabek – 6: Was surprisingly one of the Czech’s most attacking players, and did a good job defensively.
Tomas Sivok – 5: Battled hard but will feel he could have done more to prevent both goals.
Roman Hubnik – 4: A disappointing evening for the centre half.
Daniel Pudil – 4: Turkey’s opening goal came from the side he was defending. Seemed to struggle overall.
David Pavelka – 4: Replaced Tomas Rosicky and struggled as a replacement for the veteran. Substituted on the hour mark.
Vladimir Darida – 6: Covered plenty of ground as the link between defence and attack.
Jaroslav Plasil – 5.5: Outdone by his Turkish counterparts. Not a performance the veteran would have been hoping for.
Borek Dockal – 6: Tried to impose his will on the match but his support was limited.
Tomas Necid – 4.5: Tried to make a nuisance of himself but looked frustrated with a lack of support up front.
Ladislav Krejci – 4: Went missing when his team could have used a creative asset.
Substitutes
Milan Skoda – 5: Failed to make the same kind of impact as he did against Croatia.
Josef Sural – N/A: No impact in his cameo.
Daniel Kolar – N/A: Introduced in stoppage time.
Turkey
Volcan Babacan – 8: One of the many heroes for Turkey. Made several smart saves which helped keep a clean sheet.
Gokhan Gonul – 7: Gave everything he had in defence and suffered a nasty head knock for his troubles.
Mehmet Topal – 7.5: Did an excellent job in nullifying the threat of Tomas Necid.
Hakan Balta – 7.5: Like Topal, was a rock in defence and dealt with every challenge that came his way.
Ismail Koybasi – 6: An early yellow card restricted him, but put in a decent shift nonetheless.
Ozan Tufan – 8: A strong performance with a well taken goal during the second half.
Selcuk Inan – 7: Offered defensive cover when needed and also helped provide attacking assistance. Solid performance.
Emre Mor – 8: Highlighted exactly why Borussia Dortmund wanted to sign him. Was superb and provided the opening assist.
Arda Turan – 8.5: Silenced his critics with a commanding performance in the middle of the park.
Volkan Sen – 6: Productive without being spectacular. Substituted on the hour mark.
CROATIA 2 SPAIN 1
Burak Yilmaz – 8: Took his goal beautifully with a well timed strike.
Substitutes
Oguzhan Ozyakup – 7: An impressive cameo off the bench but may struggle to regain his starting place.
Olcay Sahan – 6.5: Looked lively in his 20 minute appearance.
Cenk Tosun – N/A: Introduced in injury time.
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