FLASH
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The Turkish national team will play their final match in the World Cup group stage against the United States at the "SoFi" stadium, already without any chance of qualifying. A situation that coach Vincenzo Montella had not foreseen, as he intended for his team to arrive at this challenge as the group leader.
In the pre-match press conference, the Italian coach reacted harshly to criticism and voices calling for his removal from the national team.
" I am not resigning and I am not giving up. I still have energy, enthusiasm and an even stronger desire, beyond the support of the Federation. If someone wants me to leave, they should make up their minds that this will not happen ," declared Montella.
Before answering journalists' questions, Montella gave a speech in defense of his players, calling the criticism of recent days unfair.
" These footballers deserve more respect than they have been given. They are the pride and sons of a country. They are my sons, your sons. They must be defended, criticized when necessary, but never in a personal aspect and with offensive tones, as has happened these days. How can it be said that we lost because there was no unity and brotherhood in this national team? We are truly a family. Outside our hotel in Los Angeles there were only three people who opposed us, but they became more news than the hundreds of fans who supported us. This is unacceptable ," said the coach.
Montella also defended the work done since taking charge of the national team, pointing out the team's statistics in this World Cup, despite the elimination.
" We are among the first teams for actions in the opposing zone, for actions in the last 25 meters of the field, second for entries into the opposing zone and third for created chances. It is true that you have to score and we did not succeed, so we made a mistake in something, but we were very close. If even one of our 61 shots in two matches had turned into a goal, today we would tell a different story. For this reason we cannot destroy everything and I ask the Turkish people to stand by us ", concluded Montella.
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