I Wish Mkhitaryan Was Here Too: Turkey National Team Player

“Before the match, I spoke with Mkhitaryan because I was going to play against his nation, and I asked him what players there are and what to expect. He said it would be a tough game, and he was right.” This was mentioned by one of Turkey's main players, Hakan Çalhanoğlu, after the match of the Euro 2024 qualifying tournament group D between Turkey and Armenia, reported by a VNews correspondent.

Çalhanoğlu, who is a teammate of former Armenian national team captain Henrikh Mkhitaryan at Italy’s AC Milan, summarized the game held at the Vazgen Sargsyan Republican Stadium in a conversation with journalists.

“It was wonderful to be here, but I miss my friend Mkhitaryan. I wish he was here too. It was a good game, and Armenia's national team deserves praise. The coach is new, and so is the team. Nevertheless, I think we deserved to win. At the beginning of the game, we didn’t understand each other well since everything is new; we need to analyze everything very thoroughly. It was very difficult, but we maintained our focus and had a good second half.”

“Before the match, I spoke with Mkhitaryan since I was going to play against his nation, and I asked him what players there are and what to expect. He told me that both the team and the coach are new. He said it would be a difficult game, and he was correct. However, I will say again that I would have liked to see him here because the team would have been stronger with him. We are teammates at Inter, good friends, and very close,” Çalhanoğlu said.

It is worth mentioning that the Turkish national team secured a come-from-behind victory with a score of 2-1. Group D of the Euro 2024 qualifiers also includes the national teams of Croatia, Wales, and Latvia. The Armenian national team will host Cyprus in a friendly match on March 28, and the team, led by Alexander Petrakov, will visit the Welsh national team in the next game of the Euro 2024 qualifying round on June 16.