The Turkish captain foolishly stuck his head out pre-game and was even more stupid post.
Speaking post-game, Hakan Calhanoglu was adamant Turkey was the better team, saying Australia’s two goals were scored against the run of play and his side was let down by their own errors.
In the lead-up to the game, Calhanoglu said Turkey would “dominate” the match and said his team was “more talented” than the World No. 27 Socceroos.
“I think we will dominate (Saturday), the game, because we have more qualities and a more talented team,” Calhanoglu said of Australia. “So we will see what happens.”
Asked about his comments after the game, Calhanoglu bizarrely doubled down and said the Turkey did in fact dominate the match.
“We didn’t dominate?” Calhanoglu said to an Australian reporter in a terse exchange.
Pfft. This match was a rope-a-dope masterclass.
Sure, the Socceroos sat on their heels and, for most of the second half (when they led 1-0), parked the bus in defence, playing 8-1-1 structure.
But our counter-attacking forays were lethal, and the kebab-stuffed Turkish defence had no answer to the pace of our front three. They constantly resorted to pulling jumpers as they fell behind and were in danger of incurring penalties.
The Irankunda goal was the best in Socceroos history and will be on the list of the tournament’s top goals. The through-ball was emaculate. That first touch was gold. He won’t be at Watford for long.
Turkey’s 600mEUR duds had no answer. Forced wide and crossing onto Harry Sutar’s giant head all day is not a strategy.
Arsenal just won the Premier League playing this style. It was like watching them play under-12s play.
When somebody parks the bus, you have to draw them out, not compress them in.
Turkey was pwned.
