Sadness for the Czech people! Despite heroics from Tomas Soucek & Co., Turkey advances to the last 16 of Euro 2024, eliminating ten players.

After Antonin Barak was sent off, the Czech Republic was forced to play the bulk of the match with 10 men and was eliminated with a 2-1 loss.

Turkey advanced to the round of 16 after a fierce match, largely because of an overly enthusiastic refereeing display.

The Czechs knew going into the match that a victory was the only thing that would suffice, but they were given a cruel blσw when Antonin Barak was sent off in the 20th minute after receiving a second yellow card. In his second challenge, he tried to play the ball and unintentionally touched his opponent’s foot; the referee gave him a severe marching order.

The Czechs had the best chance of the half even though they were reduced to 10 men, as David Jurasek broke past the Turkish defense and forced Mert Gunok into a wonderful stop.

But six minutes into the second half, Turkey found their feet and seized the lead thanks to a spectacular low attempt into the bottom corner by Hakan Calhanoglu, following a superb stop by Jindrick Stanek. He seemed to dislocate his shoulder in the process, and was replaced.

After an hour, Turkey could have had a second, but Arda Guler was unable to capitalize on a brilliant cut-back, and the Czechs equalized in just 60 seconds when Tomas Soucek took advantage of some appalling goalkeeping by Gunok.

There was a chance for a thɾilling finale that would have seen Turkey eliminated, but Cenk Tosun’s goal in injury time ensured Turkey’s win and advancement.

Following a brawl between the two teams at halftime, Tomas Chory, a Czech player, was given another red card; however, this will not affect him in the knockout stages.