The round of 16 of Euro 2024 closed tonight (Tuesday) in Leipzig with another wonderful match, at the end of which the Turkish team took the last place in the quarter-finals at the expense of Austria with an excellent 1:2 and they will meet the Dutch team on Saturday evening (10:00 p.m., Sport1). For the Turks, this is also sweet revenge on Austria, who crushed it 1:6 in a friendly match between them in March.
Austria also impressed in the group stage when they finished first, ahead of France and the Netherlands, but if they were to be credited with a comfortable draw, the Turks had other plans. Vincenzo Montella’s team, which finished in second place following Portugal, took a surprising lead following just 57 seconds, Merih Demirel completed a brace in the 59th minute and although Michael Gregorich managed to shrink following seven minutes, it was too little and too late for Ralf Rangnik and his players who expected of which they were high. It should be noted that all three goals in the game came from corner kicks.
As mentioned, Demiral finished as the hero of the evening thanks to the pair he scored, but if in his and his team’s second goal he rose high above everyone else and hit the net, 57 seconds from the start he scored one of the easiest goals in his career thanks to the Austrian defense in a comedy of errors. Turkey also owes a lot to goalkeeper Mert Gunuk, who provided several saves – and above all in the 90th + 4th minute for a shot by Christoph Baumgartner, without whom she might not have been the one to meet the Netherlands on Saturday evening and return to the last eight for the first time since 2008.
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