Euro 2024, last 16: Austria 1 (Gregoritsch 66) Turkey 2 (Demiral 1, 59)
Euro 2024′s second home team, Turkey, are into the quarter-finals after beating Austria 2-1 in Leipzig.
Two hours before kick-off, a busker outside the ground played Mozart’s Turkish Rondo on the flute in an apparent attempt to appeal to both sides ... but it really wasn’t a Turkish Rondo kind of night.
The Austrian fans who bellowed their way from Richard-Wagner-Platz to the Red Bull Arena expected their team to make history by reaching the quarter-finals for the first time.
They were high on confidence after producing arguably the most exciting group campaign of any team, smashing three goals past Poland and the Netherlands in consecutive matches. They were also the favourites, their organised chaos generally reckoned more formidable than Turkey’s disorganised chaos.
But in Leipzig they were coming up maybe against the only supporters louder than them, and a team that plays with equally wild energy.
This may not have been the best match of the tournament, but it was definitely the best opening minute. Austria attacked immediately from the kickoff, a swarm of players invading the Turkish half, and Christoph Baumgartner almost put Marcel Sabitzer in on goal with a through-ball. As Sabitzer acknowledged the pass Turkey were already counter-attacking and 10 seconds later Austria’s big defensive midfielder Nicolas Seiwald was making his first tackle of the game to concede a corner.
Arda Güler’s corner swerved towards goal and was stopped on the line by the surprised Baumgartner, but the clearance bounced off Stefan Posch and back towards the Austrian goal. Patrick Pentz pawed it away again but now it fell perfectly for Merih Demiral to smash it into the net from six yards.
Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.
Austria like the game to be fast and open, hoping to tilt the balance their way through superior fitness, organisation, teamwork and attitude. But Turkey also thrive in an open game – because they have talented individuals like Güler, Barış Yılmaz and Kenan Yıldız who are capable of creating something out of nothing.
Barış showed a flash of that flair when he nutmegged Philipp Lienhart and nearly picked out Yıldız with a cross. A minute later he tried to do it again: this time Lienhart won the ball and set Austria away on a dangerous counterattack.
As Austria attacked in fast, flustered flurries, it became apparent they had two problems. The first was that it would be hard to sustain this tempo for 90 minutes. The second was that without the tempo they didn’t look like they could create much. It was hard to see them making a chance without a Turkish mistake.
One period of slow build-up culminated in a crazily ambitious 50-yard diagonal from Kevin Danso, which sailed out of play with Philipp Mwene chasing desperately. More wasted energy.
Austria had another chance late, Posch’s low cross from the right going through Demiral and reaching Baumgartner at the near post, but for the second time in the match he seemed surprised by the arrival of the ball and put it wide from four yards.
At half-time Ralf Rangnick replaced the left side of the team: Romano Schmid and Phillip Mwene off, Michael Gregoritsch and Alexander Prass on. The 6ft 3in Gregoritsch had evidently been told to run into the box alongside Arnautovic and give Austria some more presence in there – a target to aim at if no better idea presented itself.
Immediately they created their best chance of the game so far – Posch playing in Arnautovic, but Mert Günok saved at his feet. The pressure continued as the Austrian fans raised the volume – but there was a reminder of the dangers they faced when Lienhart was forced into a crude body-check on Güler to stop out a counter.
On the hour mark Turkey won another corner. This time Güler curled it to the near post, and Demiral produced a phenomenal vertical leap to beat both Austrian centre-backs and score his second of the night at the near post.
But the Turkish celebrations were muted within five minutes by the game’s third goal from a corner. Sabitzer’s outswinger was flicked on by Lienhart to the back post where Gregoritsch smashed it in.
Austria now had 25 minutes or so to take it to extra time and judging by Turkey’s reluctance to push up and close down, they were starting to feel the pace. Rain had started to billow down, giving the Austrians exactly the fast skidding surface they would have asked for to chase the game.
Yet as they pushed up the field to apply the pressure it was Turkey, through the fast raids of the indomitable Barış, who looked more likely to score.
In injury time Baumgartner at last got the clear chance he had waited all night for, soaring and sent a powerful downward header towards the Turkish goal – but Günok produced an incredible save, diving to his right to claw the ball up and over the bar. That was the moment Austria knew it was over. Turkey march on to Berlin, where they face the Netherlands on Saturday.
