Turkiye, 10-man Czechia scoreless at halftime at UEFA Euro 2024. | TSN

Turkiye and Czechia played to a physical scoreless first 45 minutes in their Group F finale from Hamburg.

The Czechs were reduced to 10 men midway through the frame when Antonin Barak was sent off for a second booking.

In just the second minute, Mert Gunok was forced into action with a fine diving save from a well struck ball from Lukas Provod that deflected off of a defender’s leg.

After some end-to-end play with each team struggling with a final ball, Real Madrid starlet Arda Guler took a pop from distance in the 13th that went well wide. It’s hard to argue with his confidence after the sensational goal he scored against Georgia on Matchday 1.

From a throw-in in the 16th, Robin Hranac was first to an inviting ball, but headed his effort well over the bar. Turkiye looked very loosely organized at the back on the play.

The match was turned on its head in the 20th. After having already been booked earlier, Barak was sent off for a clumsy tackle on Ferdi Kadioglu. There might be debate over how harsh it was for the referee to brandish a yellow, but Barak undoubtedly clipped his ankle.

Enjoying a spell of pressure in the aftermath of the sending off, Guler attempted a scissor kick from close range that was deflected by a fine intervention from Mert Muldur. 

With Czechia on 10 men, the game got considerably more physical with every challenge carrying more significance and glances at the ref at almost every tackle.

In the 31st, Salih Ozcan was given a caution for a robust challenge on Provod. Czechia striker Patrik Schick was booked from the bench for getting out of his seat and shouting at the ref.

In the closing seconds of the half, Gunok made a tremendous save to deny David Jurasek after Czechia broke against the run of play.

As it stands, with Georgia leading Portugal 1-0, Turkiye would finish as runners-up in the group with Czechia in the basement and going home.