Turkey have qualified for the quarter-finals of the 2024 Euros after a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Austria at the Red Bull Arena in Leipzig, MySportDab reports.
It was a heated clash from the start as the two teams, with virtually equal team strength, battled for a place in the last 8 of the tournament.
Against expectations, Turkey got off to a brilliant start after Demiral scored just 57 seconds into the game to give the Murat Yakin-led side the lead.
A costly defensive blunder by the Austrians led to the goal. A quick end-to-end play had seen Turkey win a quick corner immediately the referee set the game running. Austria failed to clear the lines when the corner was taken, leaving Merih to poke it home from close range.
Austria nearly fought back immediately to find an equaliser but were held off by Turkey’s solid defence. The first half ended with Turkey leading by a lone goal.
In the second half, Austria ramped up proceedings in search of an equaliser but were dealt a big blow when Demiral scored again in the 59th minute to double the lead.
Seven minutes after Demiral’s second strike, Gregoritsch reduced the deficit for the Austrians, scoring in the 66th minute to make it 2-1.
The goal made for a nervy final 24 minutes of the game as Austria battled to maintain the lead with Austria pushing hard to a late equaliser.
The Austrians came close on multiple occasions to peg back the team to a draw but could not nail home their chances.
It finally ended in a defeat as they crashed out of the competition with Turkey winning to set up a quarter-final clash with the Netherlands.
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