Vincenzo Montella believes the team needs to quickly adjust its form and continue to strive for better performances.

After Turkey's national team suffered a 0-3 away defeat to Belgium in the third round of Group A of the UEFA Nations League, coach Vincenzo Montella said that the overall performance of both sides was relatively close based on the match data, but the mistakes made by the team itself ultimately determined the result of the match.  

After the match, Vincenzo Montella said at the press conference at the Liège Maurice Di Flana Stadium: "Statistically, it was a very evenly matched contest. In this level of competition, any mistake can be punished, and the opponent won't miss such opportunities. Throughout the group stage, except for the first half against Italy, we did a good job in terms of commitment. The players maintained their fighting spirit until the very end, and playing a match like this every three days is also a constant test of our abilities."  

“Participating in the A-League is an honor in itself, and we should not regard it as a burden. Going forward, we must continue to improve ourselves, do our best, and keep striving. I do not mean to blame the players here; football has different levels of competition, and the A-League represents this high level of competition.”  

"At this stage, I won't focus too much on external criticism. We were able to return to the World Cup after 24 years and get promoted to League A, all thanks to this team and these players. We are currently in a high-intensity growth phase, facing challenges every three days or so, and using these experiences to continuously improve ourselves. These experiences will lay the foundation for our future goals."  

“I believe the players gave their all. We created many attacking opportunities and were not completely dominated by the opponent during the game. We entered the opponent's penalty area 40 times, while the opponent entered our penalty area 26 times. But football is ultimately about goals, and if you can't convert your chances into goals, it's hard to get the desired result. If we could have made more decisive and accurate decisions in the final stages, the score might have changed, and the opponent was clearly more mature in this aspect.”  

Regarding the question of whether the World Cup and subsequent consecutive losses have created a rift between the team and the fans, Vincenzo Montella stated: "Actually, there is no such problem. Over the past three years, we have raised everyone's expectations for this team, so it is understandable that the fans are dissatisfied now. Of course, they are perfectly entitled to express their opinions."  

“I am very motivated right now and I am prepared to put in more effort than ever before. I have a thorough understanding of football, so we will do our best to complete the preparations and put all our energy into the next game. Apart from that, I will not be distracted by anything else.”  

When asked about Arda Güler and Barish Alper Yilmaz missing the match against Italy due to suspension, Vincenzo Montella said: "We are certainly very disappointed that they cannot play. Both of them are very important to the team. We will be prepared to have other players fill in and move forward, and many of them may be playing at this level for the first time."  

"Giving up is not our choice. We know we wear the national team jersey and we are aware of the responsibilities entrusted to us by the country. Next, we will make full preparations and strive to perform at our highest level in the game. It is normal to feel disappointed after losing the game, but the players must adjust their state as soon as possible and keep moving forward. We will continue to fight and will not waver in our belief because of one result."  

Image source: Internet/Turkish National Team Official Website