The Netherlands advance to the Euro 2024 semi-finals after a 2-1 victory over Turkey at the Olympiastadion in Berlin.
The match offered a lot of excitement for the spectators and a turnaround in the score between the 71st and 76th minutes. The Turks opened the scoring through Akaydin in the 35th minute, but twenty minutes from the end Stefan de Vrij and Cody Gakpo forged the victory for the “tulips”.
In the semifinals, the Netherlands will face England, while Spain and France will clash in the other semifinal.
In the first 10 minutes of the match, the “tulips” predictably settled into the Turks’ half and Memphis Depay had two chances to shoot at goal, but the first shot went high over the target and the second was blocked.
In the 29th minute, Turkey could have surprisingly opened the scoring. Hakan Çalhanoğlu crossed from a free kick, Samet Akaydin got behind the defense and struck, but was extremely inaccurate.
Ten minutes before the end of the first half, Turkey opened the scoring. Vincenzo Montella’s men took a corner, after which Van Dijk managed to clear the ball, but it fell to Arda Güler’s feet. He crossed again into the penalty area, and there Verbruggen hung back and Akaydin, lurking behind him, headed the ball into the “tulips” goal.
Ten minutes after the restart, the Turks hit the bar. Arda Güler curled the ball beautifully from a free kick, but after a slight touch from Verbruggen, it hit the bar. The goalkeeper’s save went unnoticed by the referees and the referee awarded an out. Shortly before that, there was also a corner for the Netherlands, which the referee did not see, so at least the score here became 1:1.
A powerful shot by Kenan Yildiz was saved by Verbruggen with a last-ditch effort in the 65th minute, and then De Vrij prevented an addition and cleared for a corner.
The Netherlands managed to equalize in the 71st minute of the match. Depay took a short corner to Schouten, he returned the pass to Memphis, and followed with a magnificent cross, which Stefan de Vrij headed in and left Gunuc no chance – 1:1!
Inspired by the equalizer, the “tulips” launched a series of fierce attacks and this led to another goal in the 76th minute. Xavi Simons passed to Denzel Dumfries on the right wing, and the Inter player crossed sharply along the ground into the penalty area, where Cody Gakpo got ahead of a Turkish defender and sent the ball into the net for 2:1!
Five minutes from the end, Turkey could have equalized twice, but self-sacrificing interventions by defenders in orange prevented such a development.
In the second minute of added time, Turkey again had a golden opportunity to equalize. The ball was crossed into the Netherlands’ area and Seferovic shot from close range, but Verbruggen showed incredible reflexes and kept his net clean, and this was the last serious chance in front of the “tulips” goal.
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