Montella: Losing to Australia was unfair

Turkey coach Vincenzo Montella said his side paid for missed chances and individual mistakes after a 2-0 defeat by Australia in their opening World Cup match.

Montella said the result did not fully reflect the flow of the game, pointing to spells when Turkey had more of the ball and controlled territory. He added that Australia made the most of its opportunities.

He said small errors can decide matches at a World Cup and that Turkey lost focus in key moments. Australia, he said, punished those lapses.

Montella stressed that Turkey still have two games left and insisted nothing is over yet. He said the players must learn from the defeat, recover their confidence and prepare for the next matches.

Turkey’s head coach also acknowledged the disappointment among supporters, but said the team will try to respond and still aims to progress from the group stage.