Netherlands came back against Türkiye (2-1), this Saturday at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, and qualified for the semifinals of the Eurocupwhich will be played against England, winner on penalties against Switzerland (5-3 after a 1-1 draw), on Wednesday in Dortmund.
On the other side of the draw, Spain and France, who qualified on Friday, will face each other on Tuesday in Munich.
In a spectacular atmosphere in the German capital, Turkey had taken the lead with a header from Samet Akaydin (35) but the Netherlands turned it around with goals from Stefan De Vrij (70) and Mert Müldür (76).
The Netherlands, European champions in 1988, will contest their first continental semi-final since 2004.
Aggressive in duels, very focused on defence and decisive on set pieces, Turkey did what it needed in the first half to put the Netherlands on the ropes.
Arda Guler, a glove on his boot, put in a very tight ball from the edge of the area that Samet Akaydin headed with power at the far post to score 1-0.
The 19-year-old Real Madrid attacking midfielder leaves as one of the tournament’s biggest names, having scored a superb goal against Georgia and been the origin of his team’s two goals from set pieces against Austria (2-1) in the round of 16.
His display continued in the second half (55), with a free kick from far away that hit the post.
By then, Ronald Koeman had revived his faltering attack with the introduction of striker Wout Weghorst, the Oranje’s wild card from the bench.
The powerful striker made an immediate impact, heading a ball to Memphis Depay that he missed by centimetres (51). Twenty minutes later he collected a ball in the area but his unorthodox shot found goalkeeper Mert Günok.
This was followed by a one-way duel: the Netherlands moved the ball around and tried to find a gap in a supportive Turkish block, which was fired up by the spirits of the stands.
The Dutch finally got their reward when Depay crossed into the area and De Vrij stretched to connect with a perfect header that ended up in the net.
Then came the lateral pass that was passed around the area until Gakpo appeared between two defenders to finish together with Müldür to make it 2-1.
Turkey had to go all out and came close to equalising. Micky Van de Ven saved a shot from Mehmet Celik off the line and Cenk Tosun headed wide (88).
With time up, Dutch goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen sealed the deal with a shot that was forced out of the Turkish attack.
Source: Ambito
I am Pierce Boyd, a driven and ambitious professional working in the news industry. I have been writing for 24 Hours Worlds for over five years, specializing in sports section coverage. During my tenure at the publication, I have built an impressive portfolio of articles that has earned me a reputation as an experienced journalist and content creator.
