Netherlands scored twice in six second-half minutes to beat Turkey 2-1 and set up a Euro 2024 semi-final against England on Wednesday.
Netherlands had won just one of their previous 10 European Championship matches when behind at half-time yet were inspired by the introduction of striker Wout Weghorst at the break which helped force the turnaround.
Turkey had enjoyed the better of the first half and took their chance in the 35th minute when teenager Arda Guler delivered a perfect cross from the right for centre-back Samet Akaydin to head home from inside the six-yard box.
Team news:
Ronald Koeman named an unchanged side from Netherlands’ 3-0 victory over Romania in the last 16.
Turkey were forced into three changes due to suspensions. Samet Akaydin, Salih Ozcan and captain Hakan Calhanoglu all came into the side for Merih Demiral, İsmail Yuksek and Orkun Kokcu.
Netherlands’ attack had struggled to click but Weghorst, on for Steven Bergwijn at the interval, gave them more presence up against the three Turkey centre-backs, immediately setting up a chance for Memphis Depay.
Turkey, though, despite coming under more pressure in the second half, still saw Guler hit the outside of the left post with a long-range free-kick and forced the unsighted Bart Verbruggen to parry from Kenan Yildiz’s drive.
Image: Samet Akaydin (middle) celebrates scoring for Turkey.
But after Weghorst’s volley had been tipped behind for a corner, Turkey switched off and Depay’s cross was headed in by the unmarked Stefan de Vrij in the 70th minute before Netherlands took the lead moments later when Mert Muldur inadvertently turned Denzel Dumfries’ cross into his own net under pressure from Cody Gakpo.
Turkey mounted a late onslaught with substitute Zeki Celik’s goalbound effort blocked yards from the line by Micky van de Ven and after Gakpo had been denied, Verbruggen made an outstanding save in added time to keep out Semih Kilicsoy from close range.
What they said…
Netherlands captain Virgil van Dijk said:
“How is my heart? It’s fine. You know they’re going to take a lot of risks, but now we’re in the semi-finals. This is very important and very beautiful, with such a crowd. We knew there would be a lot of Turks in the stadium, but I’m proud of these guys.
“In the end we got sloppy, but actually we didn’t give anything away. In the second half, we had to stay calm and take advantage of our chances. Of course, we thought it would be fine, it would be very bad if we didn’t think so. We are one step closer. We can get to work!”
Turkey captain Hakan Calhanoglu said:
“Unfortunately, we could only make it this far. I am happy if we could bring excitement to our nation. Of course, we wanted to continue this path. Unfortunately, there is also losing in football. I would like to, once again, thank all our fans.
“We didn’t start the second half well, we retreated. After the second goal, we tried long balls and took our chances.
“I am proud to have come this far. Everyone represented their country in the best possible way. I would like to thank all my team-mates.”
Merih Demiral scored twice as Turkey beat Austria 2-1 in Leipzig to set up a quarter-final clash with Netherlands at Euro 2024.
Austria had gone ahead inside the first 10 minutes in their previous two matches but here they were on the receiving end. Arda Guler, the teenage sensation, whipped in a corner that goalkeeper Patrick Pentz could not deal with and Demiral fired home.
Clocked at just 57 seconds, it was the fastest goal in the history of the European Championship knockout stages. Ralf Rangnick’s Austria had been fancied, particularly given their 6-1 win over Turkey in March, but their opponents rose to the challenge.
Image: Austria were caught cold inside the first minute as they fell behind against Turkey
Marko Arnautovic squandered a great chance to equalise when he failed to lift the ball over the goalkeeper and Austria never did draw level. Demiral nodded in another superb Guler corner just before the hour mark to seemingly put Turkey in total control of the tie.
Substitute Michael Gregoritsch did latch onto a knockdown to pull one back and set up a dramatic finish, but Turkey goalkeeper Mert Gunok produced the save of the tournament to deny Christop Baumgartner in the final moments of a thrilling match.
Image: Austria’s Marko Arnautovic squandered a great chance to equalise against Turkey
Image: Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates after the final whistle
Another piece of history in the extraordinary career of Cristiano Ronaldo. Named in Portugal’s starting line-up against Czech Republic, he became the first player feature at a sixth European Championship. He just lacked a goal to mark the occasion.
At times, during the first half in particular, he looked sluggish, repeatedly out of position for crosses into the box as Roberto Martinez’s star-studded Portugal side laboured in the final third, despite dominating possession from the outset.
Still, though, the 39-year-old had their best chances, spurning a one-on-one chance from a Bruno Fernandes pass, then seeing a diagonal effort parried in first-half stoppage time. Earlier, there was a decent headed opportunity he sent bobbling past the post.
Ronaldo was prolific in Portugal’s qualifying campaign, top-scoring with 10 goals, but, away from the rigours of European football in Saudi Arabia, it appears he may need a little time to get back up to full speed at this tournament.
He almost provided a match-winning moment, his header steered into the net by Diogo Jota after coming back off the post, but an offside call against him meant that was left to Portugal’s new generation, with Francisco Conceicao the hero on this occasion.
Ronaldo relished the outcome, celebrating the victory with his team-mates after the final whistle. But there is no doubt he will be eager to make his own mark. Even now, in the twilight of his career, and despite a frustrating start to the tournament, you would not bet against him doing it in the games to come. Nick Wright
Hasek lets young Czechs run free in plucky defeat
Image: Lukas Provod (right) celebrates his opening goal for the Czech Republic against Portugal
There was little reason to believe the Czech Republic would get anything out of their opening game with dark horses Portugal.
Their manager had been fired since their last competitive game, they stuttered through qualifying to finish behind Albania as the joint-lowest goalscorers to reach the finals and they arrived in Germany with the youngest of all 24 squads.
Ivan Hasek has chosen to build his side around domestic players, and 15 of his 26-man squad play their club football in the Czech Republic. Nine of those had 10 caps or fewer coming into the tournament.
But with youth and inexperience sometimes comes a fearlessness. An exuberance untainted by previous failure, and the character on display in Leipzig would have impressed plenty back home who had little idea what to expect.
The result did owe a lot to a profligate Portugal side, as Nick Wright touches on above with Ronaldo a particular culprit.
But the Czech back three was relatively stoic, the forward line looked threatening on the break – and scored a well-worked opening goal – and most impressively, Hasek’s side stuck in there, bided their time and played a mature game, arguably beyond their years.
Tactical tweaks and nuances will come with time, especially with two more winnable group games to come. But the Czechs’ attitude and commitment, the lack of which played its part in Jaroslav Silhavy’s sacking last year, is more difficult to coach.
That will give Hasek, and the watching public back in Prague and beyond, the most encouragement that perhaps matching the 2020 run to the quarter-finals isn’t so out of reach. Ron Walker
Georgia show no fear in gutsy first major tournament appearance
Image: Georges Mikautadze scored Georgia’s first goal at a major tournament
In the 34-year history of the Georgian national team, never once had the eastern European nation qualified for a major tournament – until they beat Greece in a qualifying play-off in March.
“I hope that taking part will bring both the federation and the nation of Georgia an experience that will spur us on to new feats in the future,” head coach Willy Sagnol told UEFA.tv earlier in June.
If their opener against Turkey is anything to go by, the future is certainly bright.
They weathered an early storm in a hostile atmosphere in Dortmund, found a deserved, historic equaliser and continued to push even when Arda Guler’s stunner put them on the back foot for a second time. There were even several chances to level again late on, before Kerem Akturkoglu added the late gloss.
The 3-1 scoreline did not tell the full story: Georgia had five big chances, hit five shots on target, struck the woodwork twice and generated an xG of 1.59.
The tests do not get any easier, on paper, at least. On Saturday, Sagnol’s side face the Czech Republic and next Tuesday, they take on Portugal. But if Georgia deliver similarly gutsy performances over the next week, they will give them both a run for their money. Dan Long
Turkey performance leaves more questions than answers
Image: Arda Guler celebrates scoring Turkey’s second goal.
Turkey have a star in Arda Guler but they can’t rely on stunning solo strikes and open goals to avoid familiar Euros embarrassment.
Guler, the 19-year-old talent at Real Madrid, added to Mert Muldur’s superb volley with a perfect long-range curler to help his country to a crucial opening-game victory, their first in six attempts.
The pressure was on Turkey to deliver against Georgia – making their debut in the European Championships – after three defeats at a miserable Euro 2020 campaign. Dortmund’s Signal Iduna Park was dominated by expectant Turks.
Image: Mert Muldur volleys in Turkey’s opening goal of Euro 2024.
Turkey had more possession, racked up 22 shots, had an xG of 2.70 and created five big chances yet still they were lucky to escape with three points.
Georgia had five big chances too, hit the woodwork twice and were the forehead of Orkun Kokcu away from scoring a 97th-minute equaliser. Instead, Turkey ran the ball into an open goal at the other end. David Richardson
Turkey scored two goal of the tournament contenders as they started their Euro 2024 campaign with a 3-1 win over fearless newcomers Georgia.
Vincenzo Montella’s side made a strong start in Dortmund and, after Kaan Ayhan struck the woodwork, they established a deserved lead with one of the crispest strikes of the tournament so far.
A cross from Ferdi Kadioglu was headed away into the path of Mert Muldur, who found the top right corner with a stunning first-time volley.
With the Georgia defence still reeling from the opener, Kenan Yildiz was denied a second inside two minutes after a VAR review spotted he had strayed offside before a close-range finish.
Willy Sagnol’s side subsequently took advantage of the reprieve, with Georges Mikautadze beating Mert Gunok at his near post to score the nation’s first goal at a major international tournament.
The momentum began to sway in Turkey’s favour after the break, but Georgia just about kept them at bay – until Guler found a pocket of space on the right, drove to the edge of the box and curled a beauty into the top corner.
The 19-year-old became just the third teenager to score on their first appearance in the Euros, after Ferenc Bene for Hungary against Spain in 1964 and Cristiano Ronaldo for Portugal against Greece in 2004.
Turkey and Georgia fans separated by police after fighting
Fighting broke out between fans of Turkey and Georgia inside Dortmund’s Westfalenstadion ahead of the teams’ European Championship match on Tuesday.
The brawling took place at ground level in one corner of the stadium, with supporters seen throwing punches and objects at each other as security attempted to intervene in pouring rain.
The fighting stopped when police officers in riot gear came between them. A thick line of officers remained in place, with some standing in the stairwell alongside Georgia fans.
The nations share a border of around 270 kilometres (170 miles).
There had been no sign of any disorder earlier in the day as both sets of fans mixed in Dortmund’s city centre.
Driving rain forced fans with seats in lower levels of the stadium to take cover. Some fan zones around Germany did not open on Tuesday because of the forecast inclement weather.
Dortmund Police have since confirmed criminal proceedings have been initiated.
A statement released on Tuesday evening said: “During both fan walks, individual pyrotechnic items were set off. This resulted in minor injuries to a few fans and two police officers. In this connection, one person was taken into custody until the end of the event. Appropriate criminal proceedings have been initiated.
“Shortly before the start of the game, there was also a physical altercation between several people from both fan groups in the stadium. The immediate intervention of security and police forces was able to stop the altercation. Criminal proceedings were also initiated in this case.”
Still Georgia pushed. Giorgi Kochorashvili struck the crossbar, before a mix-up between himself and Mikautadze saw a late chance come and go, and a free-kick was bounced onto the right-hand post and away.
But in the final stages, Gunok punched a corner clear and, with his opposite number Giorgi Mamardashvili having come forward for the set-piece, Kerem Akturkoglu raced clear towards an open goal and slotted in to seal the win.
How Muldur’s stunner put Turkey in front
And how Guler added a sensational second
Stats: Story of the match
Montella dreaming of progression after hitting first target
Turkey manager Vincenzo Montella:
“It was a match worthy of the finals. I’m turning 50 today so this was the best present I could have received.
“We’ve never got beyond the group stage in the last three Euros; we didn’t even pick up a point last time.
“Our first target was to win this match. Now we’ve won it, the dream is to win the next one and reach the knockout stage.”
Sagnol ‘convinced’ Georgia will deliver similar performance against Czech Rep
Image: Georgia head coach Willy Sagnol
Georgia head coach Willy Sagnol:
On whether he is happy after a 3-1 defeat to Turkey: “Yes and no. I think when you lose it’s never nice, obviously. But I think for me and my team, the most important things are something else. And I think we have given such a nice, nice image of Georgian football. We can be proud of that.
“Of course we had a lot of opportunities to score, probably as much as Turkey did. But that’s football, you know, one wins and another one loses. I don’t want to say we are happy losers today but we can be proud of our performance.”
On chances of getting out of the group: “To get out of the group of course when you start Euro you can have this goal. But for us, as I said, the most important thing is to provide good performances because this is how we are going to get better also in the future.
“Georgia is still in a very important phase of development and competitions like that should help all the players and staff to be even stronger in the future. But for sure, I can tell you already on Saturday I am convinced that we are going to provide the same kind of performance. And I am very excited already thinking about Saturday.”
