Montella says Turkey leave World Cup 'with our ‌chin up' after victory over US

[p]Montella praised the players for showing ‌their skills, abilities and character despite the ‌mental toll of already being eliminated and playing in front of a predominantly pro-US ‌crowd.[/p][p][b]"We can go back home ⁠with our ‌chin up,"[/b] Montella said. [b]"Football hurts, but I got ​emotional at the end of the game... Today's match matters much ​more than 1,000 victories."[/b][/p][p]Montella said [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/turkey/QeijuHo5/"]Turkey[/a] had created enough chances throughout the ⁠tournament but ​had not been clinical enough, while stressing he would not blame individual players for missed opportunities.[/p][image alt="Match momentum" id="12e678c4-2bc1-49ed-bb51-9d9c6af1d106" credit-line="Opta by StatsPerform" guid="b075a6ea-d5f8-4d45-b477-a0cab3f051d0" original-width="1920" original-height="1080" /][p]He said his side ‌had been unfortunate in their opening two matches, arguing that even a draw from either game could have changed their fate, but accepted that "football is not always fair".[/p][p]Montella said the team's celebrations [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/turkey-7s-QeijuHo5/usa-fuitL4CF/?mid=SCvmMa2U"]after the final whistle[/a] reflected their national pride and gave him ‌confidence for the future.[/p][p]Turkey were making ​their first World Cup appearance since ‌2002, and Montella said he hoped they would not have to wait another 24 years to return.[b] "Hopefully we will do better, not in 24 ⁠years but ⁠earlier than that,"[/b] ‌he said.[/p][infobox id="4ccc1b10-d68f-4c97-bcf4-5e613c17c2e3" /]