The National Football Team’s special matches against Scotland and Czechia, playing in Diyarbakır and Gaziantep, gave Anatolia the enthusiasm of the national team.
The crescent-star team defeated Scotland 2-1 with goals scored by Ozan Kabak and Cengiz Ünder in the national match played for the first time in the history of Turkish football in Diyarbakır.
Mehmet Büyükekşi, President of the Turkish Football Federation (TFF), thanked the Governor of Diyarbakır, Ali İhsan Su, and the people of Diyarbakır for hosting both the crescent-star team, the guest team and their fans.
Noting that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had asked for a national match to be held in Diyarbakır, Büyükekşi said, “We were also happy that a national match was played in Diyarbakır for the first time. Our happiness was further strengthened when the stadium was full and the people of Diyarbakır took care of their national teams. Scottish fans also walked around the city in peace. They saw how valuable Diyarbakır, one of the most beautiful cities of our country, is in terms of tourism. It was our first priority to have the match within the framework of fair-play. And it was. We are also happy to leave the field with a victory.” used the phrases.
Gaziantep was longing with the national team
Hosting Scotland on 16 November in Diyarbakir, the National Football Team faced the Czech Republic in Gaziantep 3 days later.
Defeating Czechia 2-1 with the goals of Enes Ünal and Hakan Çalhanoğlu, the national team gave hope before the 2024 European Football Championship (EURO 2024) qualifying matches. Gaziantepliler, who joined the national team after 21 years, filled the Kalyon Stadium and supported the crescents and stars with great enthusiasm.
Thanking Gaziantep Governor Davut Gül and Gaziantep Mayor Fatma Şahin, TFF President Büyükekşi said:
“Just as in Diyarbakır, we are happy that our national team was welcomed with great enthusiasm in Gaziantep. As the Turkish Football Federation, which acts with the principle that sports is friendship, brotherhood and peace, we are also in Gaziantep after Diyarbakır in the stands and on the field. We were also happy to watch football matches within the framework of -play. For this, I would like to thank both the people of Diyarbakır and the people of Gaziantep. They turned the stands into a carnival place. We never heard bad cheers. They enthusiastically supported our national team. They also bid farewell to the Scottish and Czech national teams with applause. “We have also contributed to tourism with our national team in these two distinguished cities of our country. We will continue to bring together Anatolian cities and our national team. We want to play our national matches in modern stadiums built by our state in Anatolia.”
Croatia Match in Bursa
President Büyükekşi stated that the Croatia match in the EURO 2024 qualifiers will be held in Bursa.
Mentioning that the first home match in the qualifiers was the Croatia match, Büyükekşi said, “We will play our Croatian match, which we will play at home in the European Football Championship qualifiers and which is of great importance, in Bursa. After Diyarbakır and Gaziantep, our Bursa fans will support our national team very much. We know they will support it with great enthusiasm.” made a statement.
“Europe’s youngest national team”
TFF President Mehmet Büyükekşi stated that Turkey has the youngest national team in Europe.
Stating that they want to go to EURO 2024, which will be hosted by Germany, with a good team, Büyükekşi said:
“With Europe’s youngest and most talented national team, we played two serious preparation matches in Diyarbakır and Gaziantep to prepare for the EURO 2024 qualifiers. 4 of our players wore the national jersey for the first time in the Czechia match. Arda Güler, Tayyip Talha Sanuç, Samet Akaydın and Onur Bulut. I would like to thank our coach Mr. Stefan Kuntz, our assistant coaches Kenan Koçak, Jan Moritz Lichte, our goalkeeper coach Michael Rechner and our physical performance coach Axel Busenkell, who carefully prepared our talented players under the age of 20 for our team. I would like to thank our national team players who won against two serious opponents like the Czech Republic with good games and fought by staying true to our fair-play principle. They acted with the responsibility of wearing the crescent-star jersey. We will continue our efforts to create today’s and tomorrow’s national team with patience and faith. In the European Football Championship to be held in Germany, the national team We want to present our national team in front of our citizens who miss their currents.”
Jubilee for Cüneyt Çakır
Cüneyt Çakır, one of Turkey’s most career referees, was given a jubilee.
Cüneyt Çakır, who put an end to his 28-year refereeing career last August, said goodbye to the green fields with a special match in Gaziantep where the National Team defeated Czechia 2-1.
Çakır, who managed the first 5 minutes of the match played by the crescent-star team at the Kalyon Stadium, handed the whistle to William Sean Collum from the Scottish Football Federation. Cüneyt Çakır, who left the field with the applause of the players, was presented with a plaque specially prepared by TFF President Mehmet Büyükekşi.
Mehmet Büyükekşi thanked Çakır for his contributions to the Turkish refereeing and wished success in his future refereeing studies.
President Büyükekşi had previously announced that after Cüneyt Çakır’s decision to quit refereeing, they would make an exemplary practice in Turkish refereeing and organize a jubilee match for the experienced referee. Cüneyt Çakır played an important role in raising the bar for Turkish football refereeing with 204 international competitions. Cüneyt Çakır, who ended his career by saying “I want to train new Cüneyt Çakları”, was appointed by the TFF as a referee trainer in order to train young referees.