Turkey wins European amputee football championship
Turkey defeats England 2-1 thanks to last-minute goal in Istanbul
By Suha Gur
ISTANBUL
Turkey's national amputee football team defeated England 2-1 Monday evening in Istanbul's Vodafone Park to become European champions.
An emotional evening in Besiktas's home stadium proved to be a title
Turkey led 1-0 at halftime thanks to a goal in the 25th minute by Omer Guleryuz.
Although the dominant display from the Turkish team continued until the final minute, England's Ray Westbrook still managed to tie the game in the 50th minute.
However, Turkish team captain Osman Cakmak scored two minutes later to give Turkey the title. Amputee football games are 50 minutes long -- two halves of 25 minutes.
UEFA praises 'incredible' Turkish amputee footballers
The performance of Turkey’s triumphant amputee footballers was described as “incredible” by UEFA on Tuesday.
“40,000 fans watch hosts Turkey beat England 2-1. Fantastic support for incredible athletes,” UEFA tweeted, including a photo of Turkish fans rejoicing with
The match -- which saw the Turkish team crowned European champions -- was played at Besiktas’s Vodafone Park.
Some leading football websites also carried the victory on their pages.
“Turkey scored in injury time to win the Amputee European Championship,” ESPN FC tweeted.
“This is why we love the game,” it added.
San Francisco-based sports news site, Bleacher Report, highlighted photos of Turkish players celebrating after the victory.
“This is how it feels to win the Amputee European Championship,” it wrote, adding the Turkish flag and heart emoji just near the message.
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