Turkey scraped through to face Austria in a quintessential battle of the dark horses but they will have to buck their ideas up when the knockouts arrive. They should have seen the evening out in comfort after Czech Republic’s Antonin Barak was sent off for two yellow cards midway through the first half, and seemed certain to do so when Hakan Calhanoglu finished superbly after half-time. But they seem incapable of achieving anything the easy way and listed horribly after Tomas Soucek gave their spirited opposition a lifeline. Cenk Tosun settled their nerves near the end and the battling Czechs bow out. The Czech Republic had known at the outset that only a win would do. All the pre-match equations over how the third-place shakedown would shape the tournament were luxuries for others; Ivan Hasek’s players had a job to do and would have to perform most of it without Patrik Schick, their obvious attacking star, who had limped off soon after equalising against Georgia. Would they go for it against a Turkey side that crackles with an intensity fired by a deafening support? Under a low sun they flew from the blocks, causing flutters via a Vladimir Coufal long throw before Lukas Provod’s deflected strike drew a full-stretch save from Mert Gunok with two minutes played. Turkey’s round of 16 place would only be at risk if they took a hiding, but retaining second spot would ensure a meeting with Austria rather than Spain. Vincenzo Montella had rolled the dice with seven changes from what had become a flat defeat by Portugal. They could ill afford to pick up from there. Screamed forwards by three-quarters of the arena, Turkey found angles of their own. Arda Guler was back from injury but Kenan Yildiz showed first when his shot was diverted wide. It was a ragged but entrancing early spell, pinging from end to end, Coufal centring just beyond Adam Hlozek and launching another throw that Robin Hranac headed over when well placed. So what idiocy it was from Barak to err twice and kill the momentum from his side’s start. He had already been booked for a silly tug on Ferdi Kadioglu when, nine minutes later, he clipped Salih Ozcan’s foot with studs up. It looked more a follow-through than a malicious action but there could be no complaints. Barak held head in hands when his punishment was confirmed, trudging down the tunnel with the face of a man who knew the potential cost. Czech Republic would now have to attempt the smash-and-grab effort that came reasonably close to shocking Portugal. It became an exercise in clinging on, heroic defending from Hranac denying Guler. The game became tetchy, angsty, the Czechs clearly trying to level the numbers up: Schick received a booking on the bench, meaning he would miss any knockout game, for his protests about an Ismail Yuksek tackle on Provod. Just before the interval, a breaking David Jurasek found the opening they craved but was denied by Gunok. Despite the disparity there remained a knife-edge feel. That seemed to disappear within six minute of the restart. In an apparent bid to keep 11 on the field, Montella had replaced the booked and fired-up Ozcan with Kaan Ayhan for the second half. Turkey re-emerged as a raging force, a Baris Alper Yilmaz header squeezing underneath Jindrich Stanek but across goal. A breakthrough looked likely and it was doubly unfortunate for Stanek, who seemed to have kept Czech hopes alive with a brilliant one-handed save from Yildiz. The rebound was only cleared to the edge of the box and worked left to Calhanoglu, who cut across the ball with the outside of his foot and laced a sumptuously clean, technically masterful finish across the keeper. Stanek had clearly hurt himself in making the initial save and had to be substituted in clear discomfort, perhaps with a dislocated shoulder. Surely that was it for Czech Republic. But they battled on and had begun to mount some pressure when Gunok, under pressure from the giant substitute Tomas Chory, dropped a high ball. Chory’s attempt was blocked but Soucek’s emphatic follow-up was ratified by VAR and the game was back on. Now angst pulsated from the stands. Turkey seemed to have little idea how to approach their revised task coolly. They could not keep possession and were forced back, their opponents hurling the kitchen sink. Jan Kuchta bundled through and briefly thought he had wrought a miracle, his effort ruled out for a shove. Turkey, previously wasteful on the break, eventually made sure through Tosun.