Türkiye advanced to the quarter-finals after a 2-1 victory against Austria, in a game in which Merih Demiral scored the fastest goal ever in the EURO knockouts in Germany’s Leipzig on Tuesday.
Tuesday’s game got off to a ferocious start. Both teams had chances inside the first 30 seconds and Demiral scored inside the first minute after the Austrian defense failed to deal with a corner.
Christoph Baumgartner’s attempted clearance rebounded back off teammate Stefan Posch to goalkeeper Patrick Pentz, who scooped it off the line only for Demiral to pounce on the rebound and score.
UEFA clocked the goal at 57 seconds, making it the second-fastest ever at the Euros. Albania scored after 23 seconds against Italy in the group stage.
Austria almost responded but Demiral somehow did enough to keep Baumgartner from scoring on the line.
The Austrians pushed hard for an equalizer but the Turkish players matched their intensity and might have scored more – Türkiye star Arda Güler tried his luck from distance and Demiral went close from corner.
Demiral scored the second goal for Türkiye in the 60th minute, while Michael Gregoritsch scored Austria’s first goal in the 66th minute.
Galatasaray defender Kaan Ayhan is captaining the Crescent Stars in place of the suspended Hakan Çalhanoğlu as coach Vincenzo Montella made three changes for the team’s last-16 game against Austria at the European Championship.
Abdulkerim Bardakçı is back for Tuesday’s game after serving a suspension in the 2-1 win over the Czech Republic and Orkun Kökçü also starts, with Borussia Dortmund midfielder Salih Özcan dropping to the bench.
Both Çalhanoğluand defender Samet Akaydın are suspended because of an accumulation of yellow cards, while 10 Turkish players – including Arda Güler and Kenan Yıldız – are in danger of missing the next match if booked.
Austria coach Ralf Rangnick had to replace the suspended Patrick Wimmer and made three additional changes to the team that defeated the Netherlands 3-2, with Kevin Danso, Philipp Mwene, Konrad Laimer and Christoph Baumgartner all starting.
Eight Austrian players including stand-in captain Marko Arnautovic are in danger of suspension.
Austria won 6-1 in Vienna when the teams last played in March, but it hasn’t beaten Türkiye in a competitive match since 1990.
Austria’s injured team captain David Alaba and his Real Madrid teammate, Türkiye star Arda Güler, shared a warm embrace before the game, as did Inter Milan teammates Marko Arnautovic and Çalhanoğlu.
The game is the only one from the round of 16 that isn’t being shown on free TV in Germany, prompting disappointment and anger from Turkish supporters. Some 3 million people with Turkish roots live in Germany, making them the country’s largest ethnic minority.
The Crescent Stars will play the Netherlands in Berlin on Saturday in the quarterfinals. The Dutch earlier defeated Romania 3-0 to progress.
Content Source: www.dailysabah.com