Turkey needs a point from its final group match against Czechia in Hamburg to reach the knockout stage of the European Championship. The Czechs need a win and a favor from group winner Portugal against Georgia in the other game at the same time. Here’s what to know about the match:
— Turkey has three points in Group F, two more than Czechia, after opening with a 3-1 win over Georgia before losing to Portugal 3-0. The Czechs lost to Portugal 2-1 before drawing with Georgia 1-1 in Hamburg.
— Turkey will be eliminated if it loses and Georgia beats Portugal in the other game. Georgia has a point from its draw with the Czechs.
— If Czechia and Georgia both win, second and third place will be decided on goal difference, then goals scored, then disciplinary points, then qualifier rankings. Czechia will finish third with two points if it draws with Turkey and Georgia doesn’t win. A defeat means certain elimination.
— Turkey won when the teams met at Euro 2008 and 2016, both times in the final group game, and it has won the last three meetings.
— It will be Turkey’s first game at Hamburg’s Volksparkstadion, where the Czechs drew against Georgia in their previous match.
— Czech forward Patrik Schick injured a calf muscle in Saturday’s draw with Georgia but coach Ivan Hasek said he will make a late call on his fitness. “Schick hasn’t trained with us for two days but his injury is getting better. We’ll see tomorrow,” he said Tuesday.
— Turkey players Arda Guler and Irfan Kahveci trained fully with the team on Monday after light exercises the day before. Goalkeeper Mert Gunok and midfielder Orkun Kokcu skipped the session with knee and ankle problems, respectfully.
— The teams have met 11 times since Czechia became a separate country, with five wins each and a draw. Czechoslovakia won seven of its 10 games against Turkey, with two draws.
— Schick was the joint top scorer in the last Euro with five goals, level with Cristiano Ronaldo. Schick scored against Georgia for his sixth goal overall.
— Both Turkey’s Ismail Yuksek and Czechia’s Adam Hlozek have 100% passing rating in the Euros.
— Kerem Akturkoglu and Lukas Provod are the leading scorers for Turkey and Czechia, both having one goal.
— “We will all need to stick to our tactics, be solid, focused, have the will to win every ball. We will have to cope with a loud atmosphere created by the Turkish fans – I know that from following the Turkish league.” — Czechia defender Robin Hranac.
— “We have three points after two games. The Georgia game was a good start. Portugal was one we might have won on a good day with an exceptional performance, but Portugal were very strong on the day. We still have one more game ahead of us. We want to get six points and finish second in the group.” — Turkey defender Kaan Ayhan.
Reporting by The Associated Press.
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