Turkiye defeated Latvia 4-0 in Konya in Group D to qualify for the EURO 2024 finals in Germany.
Vincenzo Montella took charge of his second game and recorded his second victory and clinched Turkiye a place in Euro 2024 in the process.
Montella made just one change from the team that beat Croatia 1-0 in last week starting Yunus Akgun over Irfan Can Kahveci.
?? Yunus Akgün scores an absolutely outrageous goal to help send Turkey through to the Euros
What a strike @yunusakgun17 pic.twitter.com/2tBqjNcU5F
— ???? ?? (@LCFCshitposting) October 15, 2023
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The two teams started the match with the following lineups:
Turkiye: Uğurcan, Ferdi, Samet, Abdülkerim, Cenk, Salih, İsmail, Hakan, Kerem, Barış Yunus.
Latvia: Ozols, Dubra, Tobers, Daskevics, Ikaunieks, Savalnieks, Ciganiks, Jaunzems, Uldrikis, Balodis, Saveljevs.
The first half ended in a goalless draw.
Turkiye took the lead in the 58th minute through Akgun.
Cenk Tosun doubled the lead in the 84th minute, and Kerem Aktürkoğlu made it 3-0 in the 88th minute.
Tosun scored again in extra time to seal the 4-0 victory.
Speaking after the match, Montella said, “I am very proud. I’m really happy. I would like to thank both the performance of our football players and the secret team behind our football team.”
Haven’t seen Turkish players and fans show this much love to a manager since Fatih Terim. I have a good feeling about Montella pic.twitter.com/cdIzdIeth6
— Turkish Football (@Turkish_Futbol1) October 16, 2023
Wales defeated Croatia 2-1 in the other match in the group which ensured Turkiye passage into the tournament.
Turkiye has qualified for Euro 2024 with 16 points in 7 matches. Wales and Croatia have 10 points in 6 matches, and Armenia has 7 points in 6 matches.
Turkiye will face Wales in Cardiff on Tuesday, November 21 in their last match of the group. Even if the match ends in a draw, Turkey will be the group winner.
This will be Turkiye’s sixth appearance at the European Championship. They previously played in the 1996, 2000, 2008, 2016, and 2020 tournaments.
The draw for Euro 2024 will be held on Saturday, December 2 at 18.00 CEST in Hamburg, Germany. The 24 teams will be divided into 6 groups.
In addition to Turkiye, Germany, Portugal, France, Belgium, Spain, and Scotland have already qualified for Euro 2024. The remaining 3 teams will be determined by the play-offs in March 2024.
The tournament will be held between June 14 and July 14, 2024 in 10 cities across Germany. The opening match will be played in Munich and the final match will be played in Berlin.
