On the eve of the Euro 16 match against Austria, Turkey's head coach Montella was interviewed by Sky Sports on topics such as the team's current situation, analysis of opponents and the Europa League situation.
First of all, Montella expressed his dissatisfaction with the unfair yellow card decisions that his team suffered during the match. He argued that if two yellow cards can lead to a player being banned, then these unjust yellow cards become especially important. The absence of Çalhanoglu and Akayden in particular will pose a considerable challenge to the Turkish team. But he also emphasized that someone from the team will step up to fill those gaps and show the resilience and strength of Turkish soccer.
Speaking about the Austrian team, Montella expressed full respect. He admitted that the Turkish team had suffered a 1-6 defeat to the Austrian team in their last friendly match, but this would not affect their attitude towards this match. According to Montella, the Austrian team has great strength in terms of counter-strike, aggressiveness in offense and offensive and defensive transitions, but the Turkish team also has its own strengths and cards. They will give their best in this match.
Montella spoke highly of the role of young players in the game. He said that there are young players in the Turkish team who are fearless in the game and that this spirit is sometimes more important than experience. Montella also revealed that the Turkish team was one of the few teams that started two players born in 2005 in the last group game, which showed their trust and importance to young talents.
Finally, Montella talked about Italy's unexpected exit. He said that he didn't expect such a result and believed that no one would have expected it. Although Italy was not the favorite to win the championship or enter the quarterfinals, their exit still disappointed everyone. According to Montella, the game of soccer is full of uncertainty, and any team can create miracles or suffer setbacks. Therefore, he urged the fans to remain calm and rational, and enjoy the fun and passion brought by the game.
