The Netherlands came back in the second half thanks to a De Vrij header and a Turkey own goal. They’ll be facing England in the semifinal, who beat Switzerland 5-3 on penalties in the earlier Saturday tie.
The Euro 2024 semifinals are set. Spain, France, England and the Netherlands are the last four teams left.
The next round will begin on Tuesday with Spain-France in Munich, followed by Netherlands-England on Wednesday in Dortmund.
Netherlands 2-1 Turkey: Dutch complete sensational six-minute comeback to reach first Euros semifinal since 2004
Samet Akaydin’s header gave Turkey a 1-0 halftime lead over the Netherlands in Saturday’s second Euro 2024 quarter-final in Berlin.
Akaydin rewarded a period of Turkish pressure by scoring in the 35th minute. Arda Guler delivered a butter-soft cross for the defender to head in off the underside of the crossbar.
It set off wild celebrations among Turkey’s coaching staff and fans. Guler was swamped in the coaching area with hugs, while fans in the west end of the stadium set off flares. Most stayed standing after the goal.
The Dutch pushed for an equalizer before the break to a chorus of whistles.
The Netherlands however came on in the second half with a completely different attitude.
After a huge missed chance, they finally found the equaliser with a header by Inter’s Stefan de Vrij, set up by Memphis Depay in the 70th minute.
It took only six more minutes, and the Dutch completely overturned the score as Gakpo’s tap-in attempt got stirred by Turkey’s Mert Müldür into his own net.
Turkey reacted furiously creating at least a couple of dangerous opportunities in the last ten minutes – one of which saved on the line – but the Netherlands held up.
England reach semifinals after perfect shootout against Switzerland
England reached the semifinals of Euro 2024 after a tense game that saw the Three Lions qualify on penalties after drawing 1-1 with Switzerland, the third consecutive draw in three quarter-finals.
Trent Alexander-Arnold scored the decisive 5-3 shootout for England, while Switzerland paid Manuel Akanji’s miss.
The game was extremely balanced and could have ended either way. Switzerland proved once again to be a tough and well-organised opponent.
England’s man of the game was without a doubt Bukayo Saka. He kept the team alive by scoring the 1-1 but also was the only English player to remain dangerous and at the centre of the game throughout the whole 120 minutes.
The first forty-five minutes were intense but tight, with no huge chance for either team and no shot fired on target.
ADVERTISEMENTEngland relied heavily on right-winger Bukayo Saka.
The Arsenal player was his side’s most dangerous element, with rapid incursions on the right wing towards the box, and a few marvellous first touches. But Switzerland fended him off effectively.
Murat Yakin’s side left very limited pockets of space to the opponent, appearing once again as one of the best-organised teams of the whole tournament.
Switzerland’s first real chance arrived in the 56th minute with an Embolo header from close range, which wasn’t however strong enough to worry England’s Pickford.
ADVERTISEMENTA few minutes later, a long ball from Switzerland’s defence caught England completely off guard, forcing the Three Lions to a last-gasp tackle to set up a corner kick for Switzerland.
Switzerland kept growing till they found the 1-0 with Embolo in the 75th minute. The Monaco striker managed to sneak in between England’s defence to convert a slow, low cross, nudging the ball past Pickford while being off balance.
But England reacted only five minutes later to find the equaliser with Saka thanks to a skipping and perfectly slotted shot from distance into the low left corner.
Switzerland had the best opportunity before going into extra time with a cross from the right wing, but neither Embolo nor Ndoye could quite reach the ball.
ADVERTISEMENTFive minutes into extra time, England went close to take the lead with a sudden powerful shot from Rice from long distance, but Switzerland’s Sommer was ready at the right post.
Bellingham tried his luck a few minutes later. His shot was well-directed towards the top left corner but not powerful enough to surprise the Swiss goalie.
In the second half of extra time, Switzerland took charge with three chances in rapid succession. The best one saw substitute Xherdan Shaqiri hitting the post directly from the corner kick!
England however complained over a potential penalty in the last minute of extra-time.
ADVERTISEMENTThe penalty shootout had England netting five on five, with the final one converted by Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Switzerland’s goalkeeper Yan Sommer is usually a good penalty-saver but all of England’s shootouts were perfectly placed and there was nothing he could do.
Manuel Akanji’s one was easy to save for Pickford, as he shot slow and low.
Before the fifth, winning penalty, England’s other shootouts were converted, in this order, by Palmer, Bellingham, Saka and Toney.
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