Stefan Kuntz is crying, and Turkey "laughs at the last second," as the headline of the sports newspaper Sabah Spor.
Whether melodrama or drama: The final minutes of the World Cup qualifier between Latvia and Turkey were tough.
They made someone like the new coach of the Turkish national soccer team beside themselves with joy and emotion.
The tears welled up in the eyes of the Saarlander at the moments that could have been trend-setting for him.
The man whose job it is to inspire the actions of an entire team under his control could not or would not hold back in those seconds as he was walking alone across the square of the Daugave Stadium in Riga.
His emotional outburst after captain Burak Yilmaz's 2-1 victory in Latvia with a penalty kick in the last second reflected the stirring tension that had raged in Kuntz during the final phase of this duel.
With the courage of desperation
Another draw after the 1-1 draw against Norway on Friday in Istanbul would have destroyed almost all hopes that they might still reach the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. But that is how it remained after the Scandinavians' 2-0 home win over Montenegro, fourth in Group G, with the Turks two-point deficit before the final showdown in November, when Kuntz and his players first did their duty at home against the bottom of the table without points Have to solve Gibraltar before they then compete in Montenegro.
The Norwegians face Latvia at home on the same match days and the group top Netherlands in the final away game.
Overtaking Norway at the last minute and thus qualifying for the play-off games to reach the World Cup finals remains the achievable goal of the Turks after the thriller from Riga.
It only started in the 70th minute, when the Turkish central defender Merih Demiral underwent an own goal, which attacker Serdar Dursun halfway compensated for with a header to make it 1-1.
Then the Turks pushed with the courage of desperation on the 2-1, which would keep them in the race for a World Cup place.
But more minutes passed before the decisive moment came after the collision between the massive Yilmaz and his opponent Dubra (90th + 5).
Referee Ekberg did not initially use the crash as an opportunity to decide on a penalty, but the Turkish players passionately demanded a penalty kick, while the German video assistant Daniel Siebert contacted his Swedish colleague with the recommendation to watch the scene again. Ekberg ran into the review area, looked carefully and then decided on a penalty for Turkey. It was the very last chance for Yilmaz, who was just lying on the ground. The fouled ran up and shot the ball full force into the left corner of the goal.
"It was a special win," said Kuntz, assessing the last-second success, "I was very satisfied with the reaction of my players after the Latvian goal." Especially because there were "many comments" after the 1-1 draw against Norway. about their "poor quality and mentality".
“But you believed in yourself.
That this win was emotional and dramatic is what makes it so important.
As a reward there are three points for the Turkish people. "