Losing Against Wales In Front Of Erdogan, Turkish Defender Apologizes

The Turkish players at half-time against Wales (Twitter @euro2020)

JAKARTA - Turkey's national team defender Umut Meras apologized after his team lost 0-2 against Wales in Group A Euro 2020 at the Baku Olympic Stadium, Azerbaijan, Wednesday local time (Thursday, western Indonesia time).

The defeat was even more embarrassing because Turkey appeared in front of its president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who was present to watch the match accompanied by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin.

While Wales scored two winning goals through Aaron Ramsey and Connor Robert who was presented by captain Gareth Bale, Turkey appeared so blunt in their attack.

Captain Burak Yilmaz squandered a good chance in the Wales goalmouth when he picked up Kaan Ayhan's header but instead volleyed high over the target.

Turkey's other two good chances came from headers by Ayhan and Merih Demiral in corners, which the Welsh defense could always prevent.

"I want to apologize. We really wanted to win tonight, but that's not enough," Meras said.

"We still have one more game and will try our best to win against Switzerland," he added.

The defeat practically left Turkey stuck at the bottom of Group A and almost certainly no longer have a chance of qualifying for the last 16, considering they have zero points and a goal difference of five deficits.

Turkey will close out their Group A campaign against Switzerland in Baku on Sunday, 20 June.