After the 0:1 defeat against Paraguay, Merih Demiral, a player of the Turkish national team, who gave a statement to the journalists, emphasized that everyone bears responsibility for the result.
Medianews.az reports, referring to Modern.az, that Demiral apologized to the Turkish people and said:
"We are very sorry. I apologize to the Turkish people. I have no other words to say. I do not know what to say, such moments happen in football. We apologize to everyone. Everyone was very sad in the locker room. I have been coming to the national team for years, and this was the game that upset me the most. Everyone is in a very emotional state. We apologize to all of our people. I cannot find other words."
The 28-year-old footballer stated that the team played with great desire in both the matches against Australia and Paraguay:
"When it doesn't happen, it doesn't happen. We made 70-75 shots in two games. When it doesn't happen, it doesn't happen. We are experiencing the sadness of that. We believe we fought; we did our best in both games. We got results we did not expect at all. It shouldn't have been like this. Everyone here bears responsibility. We sincerely apologize to everyone, especially to our people whom we have hurt and disappointed."
Speaking about their last group match against the USA, Merih Demiral said they want to finish the tournament with a victory:
"Everyone is very sad, but there is one game left. Hopefully, we will finish the tournament well."
Speaking about the national team's head coach Vincenzo Montella, Demiral added:
"As soon as he entered the locker room, he gathered all of us. He spoke with all of us. He congratulated us for the effort we showed. He is also very sad. But he is satisfied with everyone's effort. Because we did our best. Of course, everyone can express an opinion from outside, but believe me, everyone did their best. In football, there are good days and bad days. We could have achieved a better result; at least we could have advanced from the group. Therefore, all the responsibility is on us. Once again, I apologize to all of our people."