Celebrations broke out across many cities in Germany at the final whistle in the Austria-Turkey match, as Merih Demiral’s brace and Mert Gunok’s superb stoppage-time save secured the Turks a spot in Euro 2024’s last-8.
Thousands of Turks — visitors and those who have made Germany their home — took to the streets, honking car horns, waving flags and cheering, with their national team eyeing a repeat of their Euro 2008 semi-final run.
Man of the match Demiral struck in each half, following up his first — just after 57 seconds — with a powerful header in the second half to set up a quarter final on Saturday in Berlin against the Netherlands, who beat Romania 3-0 earlier on Tuesday.
Austria cut the deficit through Michael Gregoritsch midway through the second half, before being denied in the final seconds when Christoph Baumgartner’s header was kept out by a stunning one-handed stop from Gunok.
“It was a match where we reflected the team spirit from the first minute to the last minute,” said Turkey coach Vincenzo Montella. “This is actually a historic result, we have matched 2008 in terms of victories. This is very important. We are advancing step
by step.”
Pulsating game
The Turks snatched the lead in a frantic start when Demiral pounced on a goalmouth scramble following a corner to fire into the roof of the net for the fastest goal in a Euros knockout match.
Turkey were happy to leave possession to Austria, who beat them 6-1 in a friendly back in March, but kept pressing high and looked to catch them on the break, disrupting their opponents’ usual no-frills playing style.
Ralf Rangnick’s side had no efforts on target in the first half but came out fighting following the break, picking up the pace. They should have leveled six minutes later, when captain Marko Arnautovic was sent through with only the keeper to beat but his shot was blocked by Gunok.
Amid pouring rain, Austria reached a total of 21 attempts on goal as they kept pushing forward.
Uefa probe
Uefa, the governing body of European football, has launched an investigation into Demiral’s “alleged inappropriate behavior” after he celebrated completing his brace, by displaying a hand sign associated with ultra-nationalist group Ulku Ocaklari, widely known as the Gray Wolves.
Demiral was previously one of 16 Turkey players reprimanded in 2019 for making military-style salutes at games at a time when the country was conducting a military offensive in Syria.
Reuters & AP/PTI
