Turkey boss Fatih Terim was left disappointed by the performances from star players Arda Turan and Hakan Calhanoglu after his side lost their opening Euro 2016 game against Croatia.
Luka Modric’s spectacular goal at the end of the first-half settled the Group D opener, but Turkey offered very little, which left their coach asking questions from his captain and Bayer Leverkusen star.
Lacklustre performance from star players
Turan was switched flanks at half-time, however, with Calhanoglu coming into the centre, this failed to turn the side around, with the former looking for the easy pass, and sitting too deep too often.
Before Turkey’s opener, Terim wanted to ensure that his side were a regular feature at the European Championships, but the loss to Croatia set the Crescent-Stars back as they are aiming to get out of Group D.
“We rely on their performance but, as you said, they couldn’t deliver enough. We will need them but this happens,” the coach said at his post-match conference.
Terim also pointed out two other players, Selcuk Inan and Ozan Tufan, who failed to live up to his high expectations, and he is confident that if they can deliver, Turkey will “make some good results”.
Were the tactics at fault for loss?
The veteran coach disagreed that the defeat at the Parc De Princes was down to their failed approach to the game, despite the players failing to make an impression on the game throughout the 90 minutes.
Terim, who was frustrated at how his team faded in the game, added: “The Turkish national team has a way of playing, has a certain formation and certain tactics, has a certain game philosophy.”
The coach expected his side to have more possession, but the first-half was a “balanced game”, according to Terim, who also believes his side failed to “produce enough up front”.
In the second-half Turkey had defensive problems, says Terim, who said: “The lessons we can get from this game is we shouldn’t lose the ball in an easy way and we should run and fight more.”