The coach of Türkiye Vincenzo Montellawho spoke at the press conference alongside Calhanoglu on the eve of the match against Montenegro, does not hide the lack of players in the squad but does not want to give up fighting for this reason: “We have some absences, Abdulkerim Bardakci is disqualified and Hakan Calhanoglu is injured. However , all the players we have will fight until the end and we will give what we intend to give.”
Speaking of his captain, Montella adds: “I can say this about Hakan: he is a player of a level that can change the balance in any European team. The Roma bench? I think we should close the issue now and focus on tomorrow’s match because it will be a difficult challenge full of pitfalls.”
On the Nations League and his team’s chances: “If we have to do the math, we have had a good season since last year. We want to go to Serie A to compete with the best teams. This adventure began in League C. The match against Montenegro is a difficult match. Even if they lost, they pushed until the end in every match. We want to win the match by minding our own business”, concluded the Turkish coach ahead of the match against Montenegro, the last of 2024.