BERLIN, Germany — There were tears from Turkey captain Hakan Çalhanoglu at the end of Saturday’s Euro 2024 quarterfinal defeat to the Netherlands.
At 30-years-old, the Internazionale midfielder may not get another chance of reaching the final of a major tournament, and so you can understand his disappointment.
The thousands of Turkey fans who crammed into Berlin’s Olympiastadion will be frustrated too, after watching their team let slip a 1-0 lead to lose 2-1 to a Dutch team who were out-played and out-fought for nearly an hour.
But when the dust settles and the emotion subsides, there will be cause for optimism for those who have followed Turkey’s campaign in Germany so ferociously. Ay-Yıldızlılar have been here before, reaching the semifinals of the World Cup in 2002 and the last four of Euro 2008. But on each occasion, they couldn’t build on it and those highlights are anomalies on their tournament record.
The challenge for this group — whether it’s led by head coach Vincenzo Montella or not — is to take what they’ve done with a young, exciting squad and use it as a platform to achieve bigger and better things. The goal should be to make these games the norm, particularly with a home Euros to come in 2032.
“We should have no regrets,” said Montella. “We are a very young team and we must be proud, proud of the players, because they played with a Turkish spirit. The Turkish people love us and they deserve it. After these Euros, Turkey will be seen with different eyes, probably with more respect.”
Since finishing third at the World Cup in Japan and South Korea more than 20 years ago, Turkey haven’t qualified for another. It’s been a similar story at the Euros, finishing third 16 years ago and then either failing to qualify or falling at the group stage. Euro 2020 was particularly painful, arriving as dark horse contenders but leaving with their tail between their legs on the back of three group-stage defeats and just one goal scored.
Victory in the last round here against Austria was their first knockout win since 2008, but with players like Arda Güler and Kenan Yildiz, they can’t wait that long for another.
Turkey were the youngest squad at Euro 2024 behind Czechia and, of nothing else, it bodes well for the future. Guler, only 19, is already a star and showed it again against Netherlands. Already with a goal and an assist at the tournament, he created Turkey’s goal with a wonderful cross from his weaker right foot which invited Samet Akaydin to open the scoring with a powerful back-post header.
In the second half, his dart in behind was enough to worry Nathan Aké into making a lunging challenge for which he received a yellow card and from the free-kick — a low, whipped effort with his laser of a left foot — he hit the base of the post. It came at a stage of a game that, had it snuck into the corner, we would probably be talking about a Turkey semifinal rather than a brave exit.
Already the first Turkish player to win the Champions League after his success with Real Madrid last season, Guler leaves the Euros as only the third teenager to score and assist at the same tournament. The other two? Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney. That’s not bad company to be keeping.
“He played a great European Championship,” said Montella. “He hasn’t played a lot at this level, but he showed his value. The future is bright for him and the experience will make him a far better player.”
Despite the thrilling attacking threat of Guler and 19-year-old Juventus forward Yildiz, Turkey were made to pay for a lack of defensive stability. In five games at the Euros, they conceded eight goals. Five came in the group stage, more than any other team which reached the knockouts. Only six minutes separated the two Netherlands goals, and afterwards Montella admitted his team had maybe paid the price for a lack of game management at a crucial stage.
“It’s not easy,” he said. “It’s easy to say we lacked experience because in a key moment we could have managed it in a different way.
“You can only get experience by playing. We need to get used to playing at this level.
“Management of the match in the second half could have been a bit better, but it would be strange if we were already a perfect team.”
After making their mark in Germany — the team as well as the army of fans who have followed them everywhere — Montella says he wants to “reap the benefit” of attacking the Euros with a young and hungry squad. With Guler, in particular, the future is bright and there can be hope that by Euro 2032, Turkey are ready to achieve more than a creditable quarterfinal exit, especially as hosts.
“We should not stop,” Montella said. “This should be the foundation. We need to keep growing and improving and, in my opinion, the future is on our side. We are a bit disappointed because we deserve something more, but we have still won three games at a European Championship.
“I look at the future with much more confidence.”
