A goal from West Ham United midfielder Tomáš Souček wasn’t enough to prevent the Czech Republic’s early exit from UEFA Euro 2024, as a narrow 2-1 defeat to Turkey in their final group game saw them finish bottom of Group F.
Following their 2-1 loss to Portugal and 1-1 draw with Georgia earlier in the tournament, the Czechs needed a win to avoid elimination, yet this latest result saw their hopes of progression come to a disappointing end.
Souček and fellow Hammer Vladimír Coufal both started the clash in Hamburg, as their teammate Antonín Barák was shown the fastest red card in Euros history after just 20 minutes, putting Ivan Hašek’s men on the backfoot early on.
Despite their numerical disadvantage, the Czech Republic remained dogged and hard to break down, and could even have gone ahead close to half-time when David Jurásek burst into the 18-yard box and forced a save from Mert Günok.
Turkey did nudge in front six minutes after the break when Hakan Çalhanoğlu slotted in smartly, but Souček duly drew his nation level when he volleyed in from six yards with little under 25 minutes remaining.
Both sides enjoyed chances in the latter stages of the match as they chased a winner, but it was Turkey who had the last say deep into stoppage time, with former Everton and Crystal Palace forward Cenk Tosun firing the decisive blow.
A largely ill-tempered affair, that featured a Euros-record 18 cards, ended with a second Czech sending off for substitute Tomáš Chorý at the final whistle.
Despite their Euro 2024 journey coming to an end, both Souček and Coufal can leave the competition with their heads held high, having registered a goal and an assist respectively, and each completed every minute of their country’s campaign.
