A Big Week Of Football: International Matches, Turkiye’s Friendly

This week marked significant steps in terms of national matches; with the UEFA Nations League coming to an end in an impressive match between Portugal and Spain on June 8, the week offered perfect scenes for the fans, especially after the seasons ended in the national leagues. Also, the Turkish team had a friendly match with the United States in East Hartford, Connecticut, as part of their preparations for the World Cup qualifiers.

THE UEFA NATIONS LEAGUE FINAL

If there was one thing to be said about the match, it would be that it lived up to the expectations of the football lovers around the world. The game lasted 120 minutes before moving to penalties, which presented a truly breathtaking view.

Two of the nations that have gifted the brightest stars in football, Spain and Portugal, were able to qualify for the finals after the semi-final matches against France on June 5th and Germany on June 4th, respectively.

The result of the match was not predictable at all; both teams were highly competitive, with players who are dominant figures in top European clubs. Spain fielded some rising stars of football, such as Lamine Yamal, Marc Cucurella, Pedri, and Nico Williams, while Portugal showcased Bruno Fernandes, Bernardo Silva, Ruben Dias, and the greatest of all time—as some say— Cristiano Ronaldo.

From the first minutes of the match, Spain was dominant in ball possession, and the first goal came from them. The Real Sociedad player Martin Zubimendi scored a goal in the 21st minute, assisted by Lamine Yamal. However, their lead did not last long. Portugal responded in the 26th minute, only 5 minutes later, with a goal by Nuno Mendes, a player for Paris Saint-Germain, the team that recently became the Champions’ League champion. He then earned the Man of the Match award with a rating of 8.5, becoming the highest-rated player on the Portugal team. This was the first senior international goal of Nuno Mendes, after 33 matches of wearing the Portugal jersey. Just before halftime, in the 45th minute, Mikel Oyarzabal—also a player of Real Sociedad—scored Spain’s second goal, assisted by Pedri, bringing the score to 2–1.

Yet even after these early goals, the match was far from over.

The second half began with substitutions from Portugal, and in the 61st minute, Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 138th international goal at the age of 40 and brought the game to a tie once again, leading the match into extra time.

The tie continued until the end of the match and caused it to continue for the extra time. Nevertheless, despite the efforts of both teams, this extra time remained goalless, and the tie was secured. Thus, the match moved into penalties.

Until the 4th penalty from Spain, all of the goals were successful. However, Portugal’s goalkeeper, Diogo Costa, made a decisive save against Spain’s captain, Alvaro Morata. After this miss, Ruben Neves scored the penalty for Portugal and sealed a 5-3 victory in the penalty phase of the match.

Cristiano Ronaldo, overwhelmed with emotion, shed tears as he lifted the trophy, reinforcing his legendary status as Portugal’s captain.

TURKIYE-USA FRIENDLY

A friendly match between Türkiye and the USA was also played this week, on June 7, at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Connecticut.

The match started with the goal of Jack McGlynn of Houston Dynamo, who scored in the 1st minute for the USA. However, in the 25th minute, a misdirected pass by goalkeeper Matt Freese deflected off Johnny Cardoso and struck Arda Güler of Real Madrid, who scored the equalizer goal for Türkiye. Right after Güler’s goal at minute 27, Kerem Aktürkoğlu of Benfica FC scored the second goal for the team, putting Türkiye in the lead.

The match marked a promising start for the Turkish team in the friendly matches that will be played in the following days and also the World Cup Elimination matches, which are scheduled for autumn. These qualifiers include some challenging opponents for the team, such as the matches that will be played against Spain.

Thus, it is vital for the Turkish team to gain composure through more national matches against strong global teams.

In conclusion, last week was big and memorable for the football industry, featuring both high-stakes tournament finales and the friendly match of Türkiye against the USA.

Edited by: Ömer Gökce, Yağmur Ece Nisanoğlu