MERIH Demiral scored a goal each in the first and second half as Turkey prevailed over Austria, 2-1, in their Euro 2024 round-of-16 encounter on Tuesday night (Wednesday the Philippines) at the Leipzig Stadium in Leipzig, Germany.
Demiral converted his first goal with 57 seconds into the game as he took advantage on the defensive lapse of Austria goalkeeper Patrick Pentz for a close-range shot.
Turkey’s lead was doubled in the 59th minute as Demiral knocked down a header from a cross by Arda Guler, but Austria responded with a 66th-minute hit from Michael Gregoritsch.
Austria had a chance to force an extension late in the game on a close-range header attempt from Christoph Baumgartner but the ball was palmed away by Turkey’s goalkeeper Mert Gunok.
“This match was a very important match,” said Turkey coach Vincenzo Montella. “It was a match where we reflected the team spirit from the first minute to the last minute.”
“This is actually a historic result, we have matched 2008 in terms of victories. This is very important. Our football program is advancing step by step,” he added.
Turkey will next face Netherlands, a 3-0 winner over Romania in the other knockout round-of-16 game, in the quarterfinals round scheduled on Saturday night (Sunday morning in Manila).
Netherlands got a 1-0 edge in the 20th minute as Cody Gakpo drilled a low angled shot against the defense of Romania goalkeeper Florin Nita. It was his third conversion of the tournament.
Donyell Malen then stepped up for Netherlands with back-to-back conversions late in the match to complete a dominant win heading into the round-of-8./PN
