Turkey v Czech Republic background
Monday, September 1, 2014
Article summary
Turkish and Czech players will have contrasting memories of a famous match in Geneva as the teams meet again in UEFA EURO 2016 qualifying Group A.
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Article body
Memories of a thrilling UEFA EURO 2008 encounter in Geneva will come flooding back as Turkey take on the Czech Republic eager to get back on track in UEFA EURO 2016 qualifying Group A.
Match background
• Turkey's record in 16 games against Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic is W3 D3 L10. The nations last met in a friendly in Manisa, Turkey, on 6 February 2013, which the Czechs won 2-0 (Krejčí 3, Lafata 28). The opener was Ladislav Krejči's first – and to date, only – goal for his country.
• The first six competitive meetings between the nations were all qualifiers that took place before Czech independence. Czechoslovakia won five of those matches and drew the other.
• The only competitive meeting between the nations in their current incarnations was at UEFA EURO 2008, where Nihat Kahveci struck twice in the last four minutes to take Fatih Terim's side into the last eight at the expense of Karel Brückner's Czechs. Forward Tuncay Şanlı finished the game in the Turkey goal, with Volkan Demirel dismissed for a foul two minutes into added time.
• The teams for that match in Geneva on 15 June 2008 were:
Turkey: Volkan, Servet, Hakan Balta, Mehmet Topal (Kazim Richards 57), Mehmet Aurélio, Nihat, Semih (Sabri 46), Emre Güngör (Emre Aşık 63), Arda Turan, Tuncay, Hamit Altıntop.
Czech Republic: Čech, Grygera, Polák, Galásek, Jankulovski, Sionko (Vlček 84), Koller, Matějovský (Jarolím 39), Plašil (Kadlec 80), Ujfaluši, Rozehnal.
• After ending 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying with a 2-0 home loss to the Netherlands, Turkey won their next five friendlies.
• The Czechs' only defeat away from home in 2014 World Cup qualifying was 2-1 against Italy. They won three and drew one.
• In the 28 matches between the nations' clubs in UEFA competition, Turkey and the Czech Republic are equal on 12 wins each – though the Turkish sides are unbeaten in the last nine of those encounters (W6 D3).
• Turkey have had marginally the better of the nations' meetings in UEFA age-group competitions: W5 D3 L3.
