Of course, this match report begins with the obvious, the last moment that sticks in your mind, the Austria-Turkey final act. The game was over to the second, including the stoppage time, when Austria’s Alexander Prass shoveled the ball in once again, more with hope than with confidence. When a ball at the end of a game is so
long and so high in the air, an opponent’s player should never be able to get to it. Everyone knows that. But Christoph Baumgartner pushed his way through to the far post, so he should never have headed it and it should never have gone in. But this game did not operate with certainties.
Mert Günok is the man Baumgartner will now dream of. The Turkish goalkeeper jumped, raised his hand reflexively and headed the ball downwards onto the soaking wet grass, just before the line, over his goal and out of play. Seconds before this scene, Barış Alper Yılmaz missed a counterattack in front of the Austrian goal to make it 3-1, seconds later the game was over. Everyone rushed towards Günok, the Turkish party in Leipzig began. Baumgartner burst into tears.
This 2-1 match ended in a furious manner. This round of 16 match had started in a furious manner. In the first 34 seconds, the ball raced across the field like a pinball machine, left the center circle, got to know the Turkish penalty area better through Marcel Sabitzer and, for a few moments, found itself on the Austrian baseline. The ball was cleared out of play, a corner for Turkey, three Austrians got in each other’s way due to a misunderstanding and central defender Merih Demiral pushed the ball over the line to give them the lead.
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Two minutes later, Baumgartner put a shot just wide of the goal and missed a corner kick by a few centimeters. The Austrians were merciless and after five minutes there was enough material for a highlight show. But the Turks had the lead.
Turkish team whipped up
Tune in and don’t turn off – that’s what this round of 16 promised. It was a spectacular evening, suitably dramatically staged by its protagonists, with a final punch line that left no one unmoved. Turkey is the second youngest team in this European Championship, and no matter where they play, they will always play with a little more heart than brains, spurred on by a wildly spinning crowd in the stands. They put on a spectacle against Georgia, almost failed to beat the Czechs despite being outnumbered, and were defeated by Portugal.
And Austria, the slight favorite, because Ralf Rangnick has given this team a clear identity: permanent stress. In every game so far, this has led to considerable haste. And to group victory ahead of France and the Netherlands.
But the Turks were prepared. In March, they were beaten 6-1 by Rangnick’s Renners in Vienna. Even though everyone tried to downplay it before and after the match, they were obviously out to make amends.
After the kick-off, the first half looked like a basketball game without baskets. It went from left to right, the Austrians dominated the first 20 minutes, tried to maintain long periods of possession around the penalty area, with half-court crosses, with short passes and with long balls to Marko Arnautović. Then Turkey took control. But neither of them got through.
All eyes on Arda Güler
The 19-year-old Arda Güler stood out for the Turks. Because captain Hakan Çalhanoğlu was suspended, he controlled the game. His dribbling against two or three gave Turkey time, and he once tried a shot on goal from the center circle. It was his sharp corner kicks that resulted in the goals. At the second, the Austrian fans threw dozens of beer mugs in his direction, a common bad habit at this European Championship, but Güler’s feet answered them.
After the goal, he held his fingers to his ears in the direction of the throwers. Mesut Özil said two years ago that he would become a world star. Real Madrid teammate Jude Bellingham sees him every day in training and calls him a phenomenon. It is quite possible that this game against Austria will soon be mentioned every time Güler is mentioned. He was also the one who yelled to the bench in the second half, and shortly afterwards Salih Özcan was substituted on to hold on to the shaky lead.
Because Rangnick doesn’t hesitate to make substitutions. Alexander Prass’ crosses were supposed to find Michael Gregoritsch’s head after the break and that’s exactly what they did. The two gave the game new energy, again dominating the first quarter of an hour – and again it was the Turks who scored from a corner. Demiral rose into the Leipzig evening sky and headed the 2-0 lead.
It never got boring, even when the basketball game turned into a handball match with only one goal. Turkey just wanted to hold on to their lead. Even after Michael Gregoritsch’s 1:2. Captain Kaan Ayhan spoke of a dirty victory: “We didn’t play the prettiest football today, but we left our hearts on the pitch.” Coach Vincenzo Montella saw the soul of his team, and in that moment you could feel how perfectly an Italian coach fits into football-mad Turkey. Until Günok’s save, they hardly allowed any real chances, and Austria seemed at a loss. They had significantly more chances, more possession, but knockout round football doesn’t place any value on that.
Right-wing extremist gesture
Instead, he brings up contradictory heroes like Demiral, who scored twice. He played the game of his life, but celebrated with the wolf salute, a gesture used by the far-right Turkish Grey Wolves. He said he saw the salute from many fans in the stadium and he was proud to be Turkish, so he did it. And he hoped to be able to repeat it a few more times in the future. There is no hidden message in it. But on the anniversary of the Sivas massacre, this sounds mocking to quite a few people.
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The goalscorer of the losing team also had a message. Michael Gregoritsch said of the past few weeks in Austria: “We saw that we can all stand up for a good cause in this country. We should stay far away from right-wing ideology and know how important it is that we are all equal.” Does anyone still have doubts about their socialization in Freiburg?
The victory was certainly bad news for the sleep patterns of German city dwellers, whether in Freiburg, Dortmund or Berlin, where Turkey will now face the Netherlands. But it was also the biggest victory for Turkish football since reaching the semi-finals of the European Championship in 2008.
Of course, this match report begins with the obvious, the last moment that sticks in your mind, the Austria-Turkey final act. The game was over to the second, including the stoppage time, when Austria’s Alexander Prass shoveled the ball in once again, more with hope than with confidence. When a ball at the end of a game is so
long and so high in the air, an opponent’s player should never be able to get to it. Everyone knows that. But Christoph Baumgartner pushed his way through to the far post, so he should never have headed it and it should never have gone in. But this game did not operate with certainties.
