Czech Republic took on Turkey Tuesday evening with a spot in the knockout round on the line. A Turkish win would give them a chance to qualify in the 3rd place spot, while a Czech win could put them as high as second depending on the result of the Spain and Croatia game.

Turkey came out the gate with high intensity, pushing for an early goal, which they achieved in the 10th minute. Arda Turan played Emre More behind the Czech defense down the right side. More played a great cross to Burak Yilmaz who made no mistake putting the ball into the net for his 21st international goal.

The Czechs almost equalized off of a corner five minutes later, when Tomas Sivok rose above his marker to head the ball at goal. His thumping effort came off of the post and back into play, and eventually was cleared.

Jaroslav Plasil played a great give and go to create space for himself to have a shot from 25 yards out. His powerful shot forced a terrific save out of Turkish goalkeeper Volkan Babacan. The Turkish keeper has been unconvincing so far, especially on crosses, but this save should do his confidence wonders for the remainder of the game.

Turkey leaded at the half 1-0 from the Yilmaz goal. The Czechs got close hitting the post but struggled to create many quality chances.

In the 52nd minute the Czech Republic had a great chance to equalize. Turkey was down a man when Gokhan Gonul went to receive treatment on a head injury. Ladislav Krejci opted to shoot from a tight angle instead of crossing to Tomas Necid, in the end his shot was weak and right at Babacan.

The Czechs have begun their push for an equalizer. By the 60th minute they had created several good opportunities, but failed to make anything out of them. Each attack has been dangerous, and the Czech shot total has risen. The shots have appeared uninspired and have been grabbed by Babacan.

Turkey extended their lead in the 65th minute after a series of good chances by the Czechs. A set piece by Selcuk Inan fell nicely for Turkey. Ozan Tufan received a lay off from David Pavelka 8 yards out and launched the ball into the top right corner to give Turkey a real chance to advance.

Turkish fans proceeded to throw flares on the field following the second goal, much to the dismay of the Turkish players. Acts like these give UEFA a decision to make regarding fining the team, or suspending them from further tournaments.

The Czech Republic now had to push even more to create a goal. Most of their chances thus far were decent enough, but couldn’t trouble Babacan in goal.

In the waning minutes it looked unlikely that the Czechs could pull back two goals. Turkey gained confidence as the game drew to a close, and the Czechs lost confidence.

Turkey ended up 2-0 winners and will have to wait until the end of the group stage to see if they will get a spot in the knockout stage as the 3rd placed team.

Thoughts:

The Turks look like they do not want to exit early, and are playing with intensity and purpose. They haven’t defended particularly well but are attacking directly and look dangerous each time they gain possession.

Meanwhile Czech Republic is trying to play a more calm style, but have been taking several poor efforts. They have shown they have the quality but it will be a matter of quality in the final pass or shot if they want to advance.

Turan has gotten some criticism from Turkish supporters and has answered their criticisms with a terrific performance.

The game was in the end fairly even in terms of chances. The Czech Republic failed to create chances in the box and in the end it is what knocked them out.