Czech Republic vs Turkey preview, team news, tickets & prediction

The Czech Republic and Turkey renew familiarities at the 2024 UEFA European Championship as they jostle for a spot in the tournament's knockout phase.

Group F is set to come alive when Czechia and Turkey clash for a potential right to continue their respective journeys at Euro 2024. This matchup sees two teams with similar quality find the edge over the other as the Czechs are ranked 39th, two spots below Turkey in the FIFA World Ranking.

The Turks have enjoyed their previous meetings with the Czech by winning five of their last seven encounters. This game is a reincarnation of their final group stage games in 2016 and 2008 when Turkey sent their counterparts out of the competition on both occasions.

The Czechs would be desperate to avoid a case of déjà vu and must take the game to their rivals this time.

Czechia have a solid pedigree in this competition since gaining independence as they attend their eighth consecutive Euros finals. They reached the quarterfinal in two of the last three European Championships, only exiting at the group stage in France in 2016.

After beating the Netherlands 2-0 in their Round of 16 tie at Euro 2020, Czech bowed out to a superior Denmark at the Last Eight in Baku.

The journey to this latest finals was complex and chaotic at times but they eventually qualified for Euro 2024 as runners-up in their qualifying group.

Two wins and as many draws in the first four games set the tone for their campaign but a 3-0 thrashing by Albania sent the alarm bells ringing.

Tomáš Souček’s second-half penalty against Faroe Islands secured a vital win but they drew the next game against Poland. The Czechs eventually got over the line thanks to a 3–0 home win over Moldova on the final qualifying day.

The indifferent manner of their performances and the subsequent criticism from fans led to coach Jaroslav Šilhavý resigning upon clinching qualification. They will travel to Germany with a new coaching staff and fresh ideas that they hope can galvanize the team.

Many Czech players are of a decent standard and capable of impressing observers once the tournament starts. The influence of their key players would thus be integral to them stepping up to the upcoming challenges.

Turkey also had an eventful but ultimately successful journey to Euro 2024.

Indeed, they finished top of their qualifying group ahead of Croatia to advance to a third consecutive European Championship final. Now is the time to do one better than the last two editions and progress from the first round of the competition.

Victories against Armenia, Latvia and Wales from their first five qualifiers needed to be more sufficient to convince the Turkish Federation. Poor performances culminated in a friendly 4-2 defeat to Japan that saw Stefan Kuntz lose his job.

In September, Vincenzo Montella was then unveiled as the new Turkey national team manager and they finished their qualification campaign as group winners. The Italian is undefeated four games into his new role and even oversaw a 3-2 win away to Germany in a friendly.

The Crescent-Stars will be confident in the tournament knowing they can secure results. This will be a tight group to advance from and every single point will be vital. They must retain their solidity while adapting a ruthless side to their game.

The manner of their group stage exit from Euro 2020 was embarrassing considering their form in the qualifiers as they failed to register a single point from three matches and scored only once. Turkey would hope to have learned some valuable lessons ahead of this campaign where they must be bold against such strong opponents.

Match tickets

This game is scheduled for Wednesday, 26 June 2024 with kick-off at 7 PM UK time. Fans can register their interest in match tickets through a public application window on the UEFA website, with applications going over 20 million copies so far.

The Volksparkstadion in Hamburg is the venue for over 50,000 people but you can expect the arena to be packed to the rafters, given this is a big game for both national teams. Match tickets are in high demand, so finding Czech Republic vs Turkey tickets could prove difficult.

Supporters who still want to travel to Germany to watch the game live should try to get theirs via a ticket resale site.

Team news

Vaclav Jemelka and Jakub Jugas are currently injured but there are no indications they will be missing from the Czech Republic’s Euros squad.

Turkey’s goalkeeping duo Mert Gunok and Ertac Ozbir are injured, but they should be recovered before the tournament kicks off. It remains to be seen who will make the squad and any fitness updates that may change the scope.

Line-ups

Czechia were without injured star striker Patrik Schick for the entire Euro 2024 qualifying campaign. However, the Bayer Leverkusen striker will be a big boost next summer after finishing joint top scorer at Euro 2020 with five goals.

Czechia: Pavlenka; Vitík, Zima, Holes; Coufal, Soucek, Sadilek, Jurasek; Provod, Chory, Schick

Montella has instilled confidence in this Turkey side and he must keep them believing as he develops a preferred team to take on the very best in European football. So far, a group of key players are emerging under the Italian and he must depend on his trusted lieutenants to go one better than Euro 2020 and reach the knockout stage.

Turkey: Cakir; Kadiogu, Akaydin, Bardakci, Ozkacar; Ozcan, Yuksek; Akgun, Calhanoglu, Akturkoglu; Yilmaz

Prediction

Given their history in recent editions of this competition, this match will be aggressive from start to finish as both sides will be looking to get the last laugh over their rivals.

The prospect of qualification to the Round of 16 being on the line for the victors also raises the stakes a bit more. There is little to choose from between them, save for the physical battles and who punishes the most errors.

Czech 2-1 Turkey