Montella remains undeterred despite Turkey's historic losing streak

In the sparsely lit stadium in Bologna, the chant "Montella, step down!" rang after the early World Cup exit, but the Italian coach Vincenzo Montella was not deterred. Despite a fourth consecutive defeat, he stood resolutely before his team and looked ahead.

Coach Montella defends his stance

The coach explained, referring to the 1:3 (0:1) loss in Italy in the Nations League: "Even if the result does not meet our expectations, we will use these experiences to develop further." He emphasized that the current situation is not the end, but a new start.

Montella added that there is "definitely a future we can look forward to with hope," even though the results did not turn out as desired. With this, he signaled that the squad, despite the run of defeats, wants to stick to a clear playing style.

Reactions from the Turkish press

The Turkish press was less optimistic after the fourth consecutive defeat. Hürriyet wrote after the losses to France (0:1), Italy (1:4 and 1:3) and Belgium (0:3): "Even if we had played 44 games, we probably would have lost them all." It called for a clear identity and a defined playing style.

At the same time, the team was described as "very disorganized." Since 1988, Turkey had not lost four games in a row – a record that has now been broken again.

Montella still felt the support of the fans. He said on the federation's homepage that "a whole army" stands behind the team, and emphasized that the disappointment over the result runs deep.

Galatasaray professional striker Yunus Akgün also spoke critically: "We have let our country down in this phase, and we are fully aware of that." Nevertheless, he expressed confidence that the squad can overcome the difficult situation.

The next opportunity to regain trust comes on 12 November against Belgium in the Nations League, followed by a match three days later in France.