Late penalty miss sends Turkish striker straight to retirement

There are many ways of stepping aside from your international duties and retiring, but what Burak Yilmaz singlehandedly did on Thursday night is quite unorthodox.

The 36-year-old OSC Lille striker missed a crucial penalty five minutes before the final whistle in the playoff tie against Portugal away, with 2-1 on the scoreboard at that moment.

Instead of scoring and probably sending the match into a climatic over-time, after Turkey bounced back from a 2-0 deficit, Yilmaz sent it over the bar straight into stands. It caused a dejection and despair among the visitors, and Cristiano Ronaldo and co. exploited that to net one more for the 3-1 win.

In the aftermath of such an excruciating defeat, Yilmaz decided to end his international career.

"If I had scored the penalty, it would have been difficult for Portugal. I missed it, but why? I'm in shock as well," Yılmaz said as he apologized to the fans in his announcement.

Portugal win against Turkey while Yilmaz misses the penalty for the overtime

Saying that his teammates and coach were extremely supportive of him, the Turkish forward said his decision was final.

"I would like to cut to the point. Today (Thursday) was my last match with the national team. There needs to be a change. Just as I had taken the lead back then, now I need to pass it on to my teammates and support them externally," he said.

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"It is a final decision stripped of emotions. One that is taken rationally. This change needs to happen," he said.

Yılmaz scored 31 goals in 77 appearances for Turkey since his debut in April 2006. He is the national team's second-highest all-time scorer.