Turkey captain Hakan Çalhanoglu was left with a bitter aftertaste despite a tenacious display as his side let a one-goal lead against Netherlands slip in their Euro 2024 quarterfinal on Saturday, sending them home from the tournament.
In front of a raucous crowd of Turkish fans at Berlin’s Olympiastadion, Turkey took a first-half lead through Samet Akaydin, but a header from Stefan de Vrij and an own goal by Mert Müldür breached their defences and saw the Dutch advance.
« When we look at the tournament in general, teams that take a 1-0 lead generally sit back. I don’t know why this is the case, but it was the same for us today. We sat back a lot, » Çalhanoglu told reporters.
« We conceded two goals in seven minutes, which of course hurt us a little. In the end, we tried to try and had a chance with long balls, but we couldn’t take advantage.
« Sometimes things like this happen in football. We need to learn from this. I am proud of everyone. »
With Turkey set to co-host the tournament with Italy in 2032, German-born 30-year-old Çalhanoglu said his side had learned a lot that they could use to build towards the future.
« As long as we are united, as long as we are together, we can achieve anything. We have always shown this, » he said.
Çalhanoglu and several other Turkish players thanked their fans, many of whom live in Germany.
« I would like to thank our country, they supported us very well. We went into the matches as if we were the home team, » midfielder Orkun Kökçü, who was suspended for the Dutch clash, said.
« They were a great motivation for us. We are sad, but in the end it was a tournament that we will be proud of. Hopefully we will be successful in the upcoming tournaments, » he added.
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