Netherlands vs Turkey Preview & Prediction | UEFA EURO 2024 | Quarter-Final
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The final quarter-final of UEFA EURO 2024 sees two sides that are into the last eight of this tournament for the first time since UEFA EURO 2008. The Netherlands face the Turks in what could be a fascinating encounter at the Olympiastadion in Berlin.
KICK-OFF DATE/TIME: Saturday 6th July, 2024 - UK – 8:00pm / US ET – 3:00pm / US PT – 12:00pm
HOW TO WATCH ON TV: UK – ITV / US – FOX
HOW TO WATCH ONLINE: UK – ITVX / US – ViX
NETHERLANDS PREVIEW: ORANJE ON THE MARCH
Ronald Koeman, in his second stint in charge of the Netherlands, has come under intense scrutiny and criticism from the footballing punditocracy of his home country but the Oranje come into this quarter-final on the back of arguably the most complete performance of any team in the tournament so far.
After being knocked down to third in Group D due to a 3-2 loss to Austria, the Dutch were pitted against Group E winners Romania on Tuesday. Romania have surprised many but were no match, in both defence and attack, for a Cody Gakpo-inspired Netherlands side than ran out comfortable 3-0 winners in their Round of 16 tie.
TURKEY PREVIEW: THE TURKISH ENTERTAINERS
There is an argument to be made that the top three most entertaining matches at this tournament have all involved Turkey. The Turks began with a thrilling and pulsating 3-1 defeat of Georgia in Group F before being thrashed 3-0 by Portugal but then stealing a 2-1 win against Czechia to secure second spot in the first phase.
Then, on Tuesday, they played out a classic against Austria. Merih Demiral put the Turks ahead after just 57 seconds to kick off a thrilling encounter before the former Juventus man completed a brace early on in the second-half. Michael Gregoritsch pulled a goal back for the Austrians but Mert Gunok’s remarkable last minute save to deny Christoph Baumgartner sent them through.
NETHERLANDS TEAM NEWS: FOUND THE BALANCE
The Netherlands’ midfield has struggled to impose itself this tournament but both Jordy Schouten and Tijjani Reijnders put in excellent performance against Romania. The one change could see Donyell Malen, who scored a brace in that match, replace Steven Bergwijn from the start with the former Tottenham Hotspur man withdrawn due to a knock against Romania the other day.
PREDICTED XI (4-2-3-1): Verbruggen; Dumfries, De Vrij, Van Dijk, Ake; Schouten, Reijnders; Malen, Simons, Gakpo; Depay
UNAVAILABLE:
QUESTIONABLE: Bergwijn (Injured)
TURKEY TEAM NEWS: CALHANOGLU RETURNS BUT KOKCU OUT
Captain Hakan Calhanoglu has returned from his one-match suspension, as well as Samet Akaydin. Both Ismael Yuksek and Orkan Kokcu are out so Calhanoglu will come straight back in. Samet Akaydin looked set to remain out of the Turkish eleven with his replacement, Merih Demiral, scoring a match-winning brace but Demiral has since been suspended for making an ultranationalist salute in the aftermath of Turkey's 2-1 win on Tuesday. That means Akaydin is likely to reclaim his spot in the defence alongside Abdulkerim Bardakci.
PREDICTED XI (4-2-3-1): Gunok; Muldur, Akaydin, Bardakci, Kadioglu; Ayhan, Ozcan; Guler, Calhanoglu, Yildiz; Yilmaz
UNAVAILABLE: Demiral (Suspended), Yuksek (Suspended), Kokcu (Suspended)
QUESTIONABLE:
KEY STATS
- The Netherlands have six wins to Türkiye’s four in the previous 14 meetings between these two teams, with the pair also having drawn four times.
- This is their first encounter at a major final tournament.
- Only one of the last seven international matches between the Netherlands and Türkiye has finished level.
- The Netherlands are in the quarter-finals for the first time since EURO 2008, which was also the last time Türkiye featured at this stage of the tournament.
- The Netherlands have won two and lost two of their previous four EURO final tournament quarter-final ties. Three of the ties required extra-time, with the exception being their 6-1 victory against Yugoslavia in 2000.
- The Netherlands are aiming to reach their sixth EURO semi-final and first since 2004.
- The Netherlands have been losing at half-time in only one of their last nine EURO matches.
- Prior to their win against Romania, the Netherlands had lost their last three matches in the EURO knockout rounds since the quarter-finals at EURO 2004 when they progressed against Sweden on penalties.
- The Netherlands have scored two or more goals in six of their last eight EURO matches.
- The Netherlands have kept four clean sheets in their last seven EURO matches.
- Cody Gakpo has scored six goals in his last nine EURO and World Cup final tournament appearances.
- Türkiye have reached the quarter-finals of a EURO final tournament for the third time, having previously done so in 2000 when they lost against Italy, and most recently in 2008 when they progressed to the semi-finals with a penalty shoot-out win against Croatia.
- Türkiye have won three matches at EURO 2024. This is their highest total of wins in a single edition.
- Only two of Türkiye’s 22 EURO matches have finished level.
- Only one of Türkiye’s 22 EURO matches has finished goalless. That was a 0-0 draw against Sweden in the group stage at EURO 2000.
- Türkiye have played extra-time only once in a EURO knockout match. This was their quarter-final against Croatia at EURO 2008 which finished goalless after 90 minutes and 1-1 after extra-time with both goals being scored in the last two minutes of extra-time. Türkiye went on to win 3-1 in the penalty shoot-out.
- Hakan Çalhanoğlu is set to make his ninth EURO appearance, bringing him level with Türkiye’s record holder Rüştü Reçber.
NETHERLANDS VS TURKEY PREDICTION
The Netherlands have been involved in some thrilling matches themselves in this tournament. In fact, aside from their goalless draw against the football killers of France, the Netherlands’ other three matches have consisted of 11 goals. Turkey are yet to keep a clean sheet but have the technical quality to hurt any team in the competition so we could well be set for yet another entertaining match involving these two sides.
NETHERLANDS VS TURKEY TIP: OVER 2.5 GOALS
