Merih Demiral, who replaced an offensive teammate, secured the victory for Turkey with two goals. He first made his mark after only 56 seconds, when a free ball arrived in a small area after confusion by the Austrians.
He then scored the key second goal with an accurate header after a successful jump after an hour of play, when he did not give the Austrian goalkeeper Patrick Pentz a chance. Michael Gregoritsch only reduced the score for the Austrians seven minutes later. Christoph Baumgartner could have equalized in the last minute of regulation, but failed.
“We managed an extremely difficult and important match, the whole team gave everything and performed brilliantly. We did it with the support of the fans, I am incredibly proud to be Turkish. I accept this award on behalf of the whole team,” said Demiral, who was named player of the match.
It was Baumgartner who had several good opportunities in the match, but he never once matured against the Turkish goalkeeper Mert Günok. The Austrian offensive player overshadowed the star Mark Arnautovic, who could have equalized at 1:1 in the 50th minute, but otherwise he was not seen much on the pitch. Even a 21:6 shooting advantage did not help the Austrians.
The Turks, on the other hand, were unable to increase their lead in the end and ensure their progress. Baris Yilmaz blocked excellent scoring opportunities twice. In the end, he didn’t have to mind. “We lost very, very, very unluckily. We had at least as many chances as in the previous 6:1 win. It’s absurd that we’re going home after such a performance,” Austria coach Ralf Rangnick regretted.
Turkey advanced to the quarter-finals of the European Championship after sixteen years, the Dutch were among the top eight last time also in 2008.
2024-07-02 21:25:16
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