Turan frustrated by ´unjust´ criticism

Turkey captain Arda Turan feels he did not deserve the harsh criticism he received in the wake of his side’s 1-0 Euro 2016 defeat at the hands of Croatia.

Luka Modric’s stunning volley saw Turkey suffer an opening game defeat at Euro 2016 with Turan a particular target for a poor performance.

The Barcelona man admitted he was not at his best in their Group D opener, but is adamant he always gives his all for his country.

“I played badly and I was ineffective. However, such things can happen in life. I’ll try my best to do better in the next match,” Turan told the official UEFA website.

“But I really find it hard to understand the way people respond to me. I’ve worn this jersey over 90 times. I have played badly a few times, but you could count them on the fingers of one hand.

“I’m just trying to stand tall for my country and my national team.”

Turkey need a good result against Spain on Friday in order to keep their chances of reaching the knockout stages alive and Turan hopes they can spring a surprise.

“Spain are the favourites, they will have more of the ball,” the midfielder added.

“We’re going to try our hardest to get a point; if we can do that, our chances of going through are very high. Spain are a very strong team, but, they will still only play with 11 players like us. We’re going to fight until the end. 

“I have lots of friends in the Spain team. That is the beauty of football. Nowadays everyone knows each other – video analysis has really developed – so I do not think there will be any sort of advantage or disadvantage.”