Türkiye’s nationwide soccer crew suffered a slender 1-0 defeat in opposition to Mexico of their first-ever assembly, a bodily pleasant at Kenan Memorial Stadium in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Despite dominating massive stretches of the match and outshooting Mexico by a 3-to-1 margin, Vincenzo Montella’s males lacked ending precision – a shortcoming that proved expensive.
First-half slip
Mexico’s Orbelin Pineda netted the lone aim within the forty fifth minute, capitalizing on a defensive lapse following a protracted throw-in from Jesus Gallardo.
Luis Romo teed up Pineda close to the penalty spot, and the midfielder calmly slotted it previous Turkish keeper Berke Özer to make it 1-0.
Türkiye had proven promise earlier.
Midfielder Kaan Ayhan and İsmail Yüksek every examined Mexico’s Luis Malagon with highly effective strikes within the opening 20 minutes.
A disallowed aim for offside within the twenty fourth minute gave Mexico an early scare, and Irfan Can Kahveci got here shut with a thunderous shot simply earlier than the break.
Second-half push comes up brief
Both groups struggled to create clear-cut probabilities after halftime.
Mexico almost doubled their lead within the sixty fifth minute when Cesar Huerta’s strike clipped the submit. Türkiye’s finest alternative got here 11 minutes from time when Kenan Yıldız squared the ball for Kerem Aktürkoğlu, whose quick-fire shot whisked simply extensive.
Türkiye couldn’t discover an equalizer, closing out their U.S. coaching camp with a loss after beforehand beating the United States 2-1.
Debutants and growth
Two younger names wrote their first pages within the nationwide crew’s story. Defender Yasin Özcan, 18, began and performed 45 minutes, whereas 20-year-old midfielder Demir Ege Tıknaz got here on within the 77th minute.
Özcan, who accomplished the season with Kasımpaşa, is ready to affix Premier League facet Aston Villa. Tıknaz, on Beşiktaş’s books, spent final season on mortgage at Portugal’s Rio Ave.
Montella: “We didn’t deserve to lose”
Postgame, head coach Vincenzo Montella praised his crew’s effort and pressured that the end result didn’t replicate their efficiency.
“We created more, took three times as many shots, but our accuracy was poor,” Montella mentioned. “We made a single mistake when everyone was behind the ball, and they punished us. That’s football.”
Montella, who has led Türkiye from fortieth to twenty seventh within the FIFA rankings, mentioned the camp was a hit by way of constructing squad depth and spirit. “Everyone played their role. I saw fight, team cohesion, and progress – that’s more important in this phase,” he mentioned.
He emphasised the bodily problem of taking part in a mid-season crew like Mexico whereas many Turkish gamers had been coming off 50-game seasons and restricted relaxation.
“Arda in No. 10?”
Asked whether or not Arda Güler would proceed sporting the coveted No. 10 shirt, Montella brushed it off: “I’ve made mistakes before with shirt numbers – that’s not something I want to get into again.”
Source: www.dailysabah.com