Sports
Türkiye heads to Nations League playoffs after Montenegro loss
NIKSIC, Montenegro
Türkiye spurned the opportunity to finish atop its group in the UEFA Nations League and qualify for League A directly with a 3-1 loss at Montenegro on Nov. 19 night.
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Wales’ won 4-1 against Iceland to leapfrog the Euro 2024 quarterfinalist.
Türkiye coach Vincenzo Montella said the poor conditions of the pitch in Niksic played a big role in the result.
“It was a football game with little football played, the pitch was really too bad to play at this level,” the Italian told a post-game press conference.
“When you play at this level in these conditions, it is an unusual match. Our players fought until the end but we are a team with a higher technical capacity, we are not as physical as them and we paid for it with the score.”
Montenegro seemed comfortable throughout the match against Türkiye, which fell behind in the 29th minute as Nikola Krstovic pounced on Emirhan Topçu’s miscued challenge to race in on goal and fire home.
Juventus forward Kenan Yıldız leveled the match eight minutes later, but Krstovic punished Türkiye once again to reestablish Montenegro’s lead in the final minute of the first half.
Lecce forward Krstovic completed a hat-trick, his first-ever international, 17 minutes from the final whistle to secure his side’s first victory in its Nations League campaign and end a string of seven consecutive defeats.
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With the loss, Türkiye finished Group B4 in the second spot three points behind Wales. It will now play a playoff match against a third-place finisher from League A, with the winning side having a spot in the top division for the next season. The draw for the opponent will take place on Nov. 22.
Montella said the team’s target of promotion to League A has not changed.
“We will play playoffs in March, our goal is to reach League A, and we also want a spot in the [2026] World Cup,” he said.
“We also have players who will continue to develop in this process, the more they develop the stronger we will be.”
Asked about Türkiye’s possible playoff opponents, Hungary, Serbia, Belgium and Scotland, Montella said the draw result does not matter.
“The opponent is not important, it is only after a defeat that we lose our excitement, our balance, our will, our spirit and the love of our nation,” he said.
“These are very important balances in football. The opponent doesn’t matter, we will continue to play our own football. We will do our best. Sometimes we rush too much because we love too much, we have to be careful, we have to be patient, we have to progress step by step.”
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Also in the Nations League on Nov. 19, the Czech Republic booked the top spot in Group B1 with a 2-1 win over Georgia. Ukraine leapfrogged the Georgians into second place by downing Albania.
In League C, Sweden showcased its striking prowess with a 6-0 thumping of Azerbaijan as it emphatically topped its group.
Much-heralded 26-year-old striker Viktor Gyokeres netted four goals in the rout, with Dejan Kulusevski grabbing a brace.
Wanda Nara ve Icardi arasındaki tartışmalar bitmek bilmiyor. Mahkeme kararı ile çocuğunu görme hakkı elde eden Icardi, Nara’nın dairesine gidince ortalık karıştı.
Arjantin basınına göre Icardi, kızlarını okuldan almaya gitti. Kızlarının yanında evcil hayvanların olduğunu gören futbolcu, Wanda Nara’nın yaşadığı binaya gitti ve büyük olaylar çıktı. Nara, Icardi’nin binayı terk etmesi için bağırmaya başladı. Icardi’nin binaya geldiğini gören Wanda Nara avukatını ve polisi ararken; avukat, gergin anlarla ilgili olarak “O bir deli, bir boğuşma oldu ve her şey kayıt altında” açıklamasını yaptı. Wanda Nara’nın o sırada çığlık attığı duyuldu. Nara’nın araya girmek istemesi üzerine olaya polis müdahale etti.
Yaşananları aktaran bir Arjantli gazeteci şu ifadeleri kullandı: Kızları almak için okula gitti, kızların evcil hayvanları da vardı ama onları istemiyordu. Mauro da hayvanları bırakmak için eski eşinin yaşadığı Chateau Libertador’a gitti. Ancak tüm bunlar büyük bir gerginliğe yol açtı ve olay yerine polis ve Buenos Aires Halk Sağlığı Acil Servisi’nin müdahale etmesiyle sonuçlandı.
Trendyol Süper Lig’in 28. haftasında TÜMOSAN Konyaspor, sahasında konuk ettiği Beşiktaş’ı 1-0 mağlup etti.
Beşiktaş’ta uzun süredir sakatlığı bulunan savunma oyuncusu Gabriel Paulista, 19 maç sonra ilk 11’e adını yazdırdı. Beşiktaş Teknik Direktörü Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Konya Büyükşehir Stadı’nda oynanan karşılaşmaya Emirhan Topçu’nun yerine Paulista’yı ilk 11’de sahaya sürdü.
UEFA Avrupa Ligi’nin 5’inci haftasında 28 Kasım 2024’te Macaristan’da oynanan Maccabi Tel Aviv karşılaşmasında sakatlık yaşayan Brezilyalı futbolcu, o tarihten sonra 19 maçta formasından uzak kalmıştı.
Sahada 45 dakika kalan Gabriel Paulista, ikinci yarıda yerini Emirhan Topçu’ya bıraktı.
Karşılaşmanın ardından beIN Sports’a açıklamalarda bulunan Paulista “Öncelikle sakat olmadığımı, hocamızın kararıyla oyundan çıktığımı söyleyeyim. Futboldan anlamayan kişiler öyle şeyler söylüyor. Zor bir maç oldu. Daha çok karakter koymamız lazımdı. Planladıklarımızı yapamadık. Kötü bir gol yedik. İstediklerimizi hiç yapamadık” ifadelerini kullandı.
KANSAS CITY
The Kansas City Chiefs kept their bid for an historic third straight Super Bowl alive on Jan. 26, holding off the Buffalo Bills 32-29 in an AFC Championship thriller to set up an NFL title clash with the Philadelphia Eagles.
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The Eagles’ explosive ground game carried them to a 55-23 triumph over the Washington Commanders and into the NFL’s championship showpiece in New Orleans on Feb. 9.
In another tense duel between Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and Bills counterpart Josh Allen, Mahomes ran for a 10-yard touchdown and completed the two-point conversion to put Kansas City up 29-22 early in the fourth quarter.
After Allen answered with a four-yard touchdown pass to Curtis Samuel to knot the score at 29-29, Harrison Butker booted a 35-yard field goal that capped the scoring, the Chiefs defense thwarting the Bills’ last bid.
“I’m just so proud of my teammates and how they responded,” said Mahomes, who ran for two touchdowns and threw for another. “That was a great football team and I’m just, I’m just lost of words.
“I’m just excited to get down to New Orleans, let’s go make history.”
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Kansas City have now ruined the Bills dreams in four of the last five post-seasons — twice in the conference championship. The Bills haven’t made it to the NFL’s championship showpiece since 1993.
Cheered on by Taylor Swift, the pop singer girlfriend of Chiefs tight-end Travis Kelce, the home side took the lead in the first quarter with a 12-yard rushing TD from Kareem Hunt.
The Bills responded with a 53-yard Tyler Bass field goal followed early in the second quarter with a six-yard rushing score from James Cook that put the Bills up 10-7.
But then the Chiefs turned on the style with Mahomes showing all his class to find Xavier Worthy with an 11-yard touchdown pass.
The quarterback’s one-yard touchdown run put the Chiefs 11 points up.
Allen answered with a touchdown pass to Mack Hollins and the Bills took a 22-21 lead on Cook’s one-yard scoring plunge.
Chiefs coach Andy Reid said his team will have to set aside the hype surrounding their bid for an unprecedented third straight Super Bowl and focus on the Eagles.
“It still comes down to the game and the purity of the game and each play and how you handle it,” Reid said.
“And so you don’t get yourself too far out of that box. You just concentrate on the opponent and what you’ve got to get done against them.”
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In Philadelphia, quarterback Jalen Hurts and running back Saquon Barkley rushed for three touchdowns apiece, rookie running back Will Shipley ran for another and Hurts threw for one TD as the Eagles set a record for points scored in a conference championship game.
They’ll have a chance to avenge their 2023 Super Bowl loss to the Chiefs. Barkley, who came aboard as a free agent for just such an opportunity, set an early tone with a 60-yard touchdown run on the Eagles’ first play from scrimmage.
He added two four-yard scoring runs while Hurts twice plunged into the end zone from one yard out and also delivered a nine-yard TD run.
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Hurts also connected on 20 of 28 passes for 246 yards.
Washington’s Jayden Daniels, trying to become the first rookie quarterback to reach the Super Bowl, played with his trademark aplomb.
His 10-yard rushing touchdown followed by a two-point conversion had the Commanders within 11 points late in the third quarter.
Daniels threw for 255 yards with one touchdown. His one interception was one of four Commanders turnovers that ultimately proved too much to overcome.
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