On Tuesday, Turkey advanced to the quarterfinals of Euro 2024 with 2 goals from Merih Demiral in either half as his side beat Austria 2-1.
This Saturday, in Berlin, the central defense will face the Dutch, who defeated Romania 3-0 on Tuesday, in the quarterfinals. He scored in the 57th minute and added another goal with a strong header just before the hour.
Midway through the second half, Austria’s Michael Gregoritsch scored to narrow the score. With the game clock ticking away, Christoph Baumgartner had a header that was saved by Gunok’s incredible one-handed save.
With their national team aiming for a repeat of their 2008 Euro quarterfinal run, hundreds of Turks flocked to the streets of many German towns on the final whistle, blowing vehicle horns, waving flags, and shouting.
“This match was a very important match,” said Vincenzo Montella, coach of Turkey. “It was a match where we reflected the team spirit from the first minute to the last minute.”
In terms of wins, we have tied 2008, so this is really a historic result. This has great significance. Little by little, we are making progress.
Austria, the tournament’s underdogs, had a disappointing European Championship final. They haven’t won a knockout match in a major event since 1954.
Demiral scored the quickest goal in a European Championship knockout encounter when he capitalised on a mad dash in the penalty area after a corner, giving the Turks the lead in an exciting early exchange.
Despite losing 6-1 to Austria in March, Turkey was content to let them have possession and used a 5-4-1 pushing strategy to try to catch Austria on the break, throwing off their typical no-frills game.
Ralf Rangnick’s Austrian squad failed to register a single shot on goal during the first half as the tenacious Turks held Austria at bay despite captain Hakan Calhanoglou’s absence due to suspension.
After the interval, the Austrians stepped it up after the half, pressing Turkey back and creating many good opportunities. Captain Marko Arnautovic had a golden opportunity to equalize six minutes after the restart, but Gunok saved his attempt.
In the 59th minute, the Turks took the lead for good when Demiral headed home from another corner after dribbling past two men in the air.
As the rain continued to fall, Austria’s replacement Gregoritsch scored a goal at the far post in the 66th minute to give them a 2-1 lead. They continued to press for an equalizer, attempting a total of 20 shots on goal.
Baumgartner seemed to have scored in stoppage time with a header, but Gunok made the game-changing save by palming the ball wide to preserve their narrow advantage.
“The required luck eluded us. Because the Turks were becoming rather tired in the latter stages of the game, Rangnick believes that our team would have had a better chance of winning had the game gone into overtime.
He went on to say, “The team tried everything, we scored, had chances to score but it’s difficult if you have Gordon Banks in goal,” bringing up the great save made by the former England goalkeeper to deny Pele of Brazil in the 1970 World Cup.
Is Austria still in the Euros in 2024?
On July 3, Reuters was in Berlin. Though they were stunned by their high-octane style at times, Ralf Rangnick’s Austrian squad knew there may have been more to the tournament than a round of 16 elimination when they left Euro 2024.
Where are the Euro semifinals?
On July 9 and 10, the semi-finals will take place in Dortmund and Munich, respectively. On July 14, the final will be held in Berlin.
