The thrill was unanimous in the Leipzig stadium, this Tuesday, July 2. It is a little after 10:50 p.m. in Germany in the 8th final of Euro 2024 between Austria and Turkey, when Christoph Baumgartner, the Austrian striker, dives his head and believes to snatch a saving extension for his country.
As the ball bounced towards the goal, Besiktas goalkeeper Fehmi Mert Günok (35) stretched to his right to deflect the ball. The corner that followed came to nothing, Turkey secured their ticket to the quarter-finals of the Euro for the third time in their history thanks to a narrow victory (2-1).
The Turks relied on Merih Demiral to win. The defender scored twice to send his team through. He is the first defender to score two goals in a knockout match at a major tournament since Lilian Thuram in 1998.
Despite their good performances during the group stage, the Austrians went out in the last 16. The Turks were the last to qualify for the quarter-finals.
Against the Netherlands this Saturday (9 p.m.), they will probably still need a great goalkeeper to contain the Oranje attacks.
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