Netherlands beat Turkey 2-1 and secure their place in the semi-finals

Berlin: An own goal by Mert Muldur rounded off a dramatic comeback for the Netherlands on Saturday, beating stubborn Turkey 2-1 to secure their place in the semi-finals of the 2024 European Championship against England.

In the 76th minute, the defender shot the ball into his own net under pressure from Cody Gakpo. The Dutch recovered from their poor performance in the first half to win a tough duel and complete their line-up of the last four.

Just six minutes earlier, Stefan de Vrij had equalised with a header from Samet Akaydin in the 35th minute after Turkey had gone into the break with a 1-0 lead.

Riding on a wave of passionate support at the Olympic Stadium, the Turks put themselves on course for an unexpected semi-final place, but after keeping the Dutch at bay, they finally succumbed to the pressure in the final 20 minutes.

In the other semi-final, France and Spain will meet on Tuesday, before the Netherlands face England in Dortmund on Wednesday.

No less dramatic was the only quarter-final of the weekend, which was decided without extra time or a penalty shootout.

Turkey’s goal came after a strange decision by Dutch full-back Denzel Dumfries, who let a shot that had clearly been deflected off Nathan Ake go out of play, even though he could have easily kept the ball in play.

The resulting set piece was initially cleared but fell to the feet of teenager Arda Guler, who delivered a perfect cross to the far post and Akaydin was the first of three Turkish players to rise and head the ball home.

Sustained pressure

The goal came after Turkey, who had fended off the Netherlands’ early dominance, applied sustained pressure and created several chances, including a number of corners.

The Dutch’s first advances were met with stubborn defence, as Turkey gave their opponents little room to play.

The fact that attackers Memphis Depay and Gakpo did not look particularly convincing did not help the Dutch team, which prompted coach Ronald Koeman to bring on substitute Wout Weghorst at the start of the second half.

Although the imposing centre-forward seemed to panic the Turkish defenders, the next chances arose at the other end.

Güler’s free kick in the 56th minute was skillfully shot around the Dutch wall, but hit the outside of the post.

Ten minutes later, Dutch goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen blocked Baris Alper Yilmaz’s fierce shot with his hand, and Kaan Ayhan was unable to score the rebound as Weghorst cleared.

The Dutch continued to fight their way through and as the Turkish defence became increasingly confusing, they finally managed to break through in the 70th minute: Depay’s cross found the unmarked De Vrij, who headed the ball into the goal.

The siege continued and it was only a matter of time before the Dutch scored a second goal. They scored six minutes later when Gakpo put Muldur under pressure following a Dumfries cross.

The tired-looking Turks, drawing their last energies from the fanatical support of the majority of the sold-out stadium, tried valiantly to take the game into extra time, but their desperate attempts were repelled by the Orange defense and Verbruggen was able to make another important save in injury time.