The Netherlands take on Turkiye in the fourth quarterfinal of Euro 2024, with both sides coming on the back of impressive wins.
Ronald Koeman was a bit worried watching his side manage a slender lead against Romania. The longer the game went on, the more risk the Netherlands took in their knockout clash before setting up a quarter-final date with Turkiye. It took a late brace from Donyell Malen to calm Dutch nerves, as the final result does give the win a comfortable look.
Cody Gakpo was the real star of the game, with a stellar attacking display, a goal, and an assist. It was his opening strike that gave the Oranje a base to build and protect. Xavi Simons also registered two assists, as the Netherlands may have found a rhythm to get their attacking football into a flow.
With the win, the Netherlands have now set up a date with Turkiye in the quarter-finals, and Koeman’s men will be vying for a place in the last four of the tournament. The manager will feel they could not be in a stronger position given their defence and attacking stars are flourishing at the right time.
The Netherlands meet Turkiye, and Vincenzo Montella will have been pleased with his side’s performance in an astute defensive display against Austria. Turkiye were barely the favourites to get past Ralf Rangnick’s side, but two set pieces proved enough to earn a win and passage into the quarterfinals.
Merih Demiral scored both goals, as Turkiye were able to hold on to their lead despite Austria managing to dominate the ball for long periods. Michael Gregoritsch pulled one back in the 66th minute, which put Turkiye defenders on the edge. They had to thank their goalkeeper, Mert Gunok, for his sensational save deep in injury time to keep the game in his side’s favour.
With that, Montella will come into this quarter-final clash full of optimism and belief that his side can challenge some of the top teams for a place in the semi-finals. Whether Turkiye can repeat the trick against the Netherlands remains to be seen, although this clash promises fireworks and, most certainly, goals.
Team News & Tactics
Netherlands
The victory over Romania might have come at a cost for Ronald Koeman, who substituted Steven Bergwijn at half-time with an apparent injury. His replacement choice showed something different about his plans, as he brought on Donyell Malen over Jeremie Frimpong, and the former took his chance with both hands.
Malen’s double against Romania might have earned him a place in the starting eleven in the quarterfinals. The Borussia Dortmund star will look to forge a deadly partnership with his fellow attackers, such as Simons, Gakpo, and Memphis Depay.
Beyond Malen, Koeman is not expected to make any changes to his starting lineup, with Bart Verbruggen set to continue between the sticks. Virgin van Dijk and Stefan de Vrij will continue in a back four with the support of Denzel Dumfries and Nathan Ake from the full-back positions. He might bring on Micky van de Ven to change the setup into a back three should they look to protect their lead late in the game.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Verbruggen; Dumfries, de Vrij, van Dijk, Ake; Reijnders, Schouten; Malen, Simons, Gakpo; Depay
Turkiye
Vincenzo Montella will rue his luck for not having all of his best players available for crucial games. Hakan Calhanoglu and Samet Akaydin missed the clash with Austria due to suspensions, but they are back in contention for the quarterfinals.
During the win over Austria, Montella lost two more key stars to suspensions, with Orkun Kokcu and Ismail Yuksek out of the Netherlands clash. Turikye are further harmed as Merih Demiral has been banned for two games by UEFA for his celebrations after scoring against Austria, which will see the match-winner miss out on the quarter-finals and potentially even the semi-finals.
Incidentally, Jude Bellingham was also suspended for one game, but that could be managed over the course of the year. The differential treatment of the two players engaged in similar incidents has stirred controversy.
Akaydin should replace Demiral at the back, while Calahanoglu should come into a deeper midfield role, as Kerem Akturoglu might feature on the right side of the attack. That move could bring Arda Guler into a more central position, previously occupied by Calhanoglu during the group stage games.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Gunok; Muldur, Bardakci, Akaydin, Kadioglu; Ayhan, Calhanoglu; Akturkoglu, Huler, Yildiz; Yilmaz
Key Stats
- The Netherlands are undefeated in all competitions in their last five home matches against Turkiye.
- The last two matches between Netherlands and Turkiye have produced 13 goals.
- The Netherlands have progressed from five of their last seven major tournament quarter-finals (World Cup/Euros), although one of the two exceptions in this time was most recently, losing a penalty shootout to Argentina at the 2022 World Cup. This is the Oranje’s first European Championship quarter-final since 2008, when they lost 3-1 to Russia. However, they have only progressed from three of their last nine knockout ties at the UEFA European Championship.
- Turkiye have reached the quarter-final of a major tournament (World Cup/Euros) for the fourth time, after Euro 2000, the 2002 World Cup, and Euro 2008. They reached the semi-final of the latter two of those, failing only at Euro 2000 when they lost 0-2 to Portugal.
- Across the 2022 World Cup and EURO 2024, the only European player with more goals than Netherlands’ Cody Gakpo (6) is Kylian Mbappe (9). All six of Gakpo’s strikes have come in different matches; the only Dutch players to score in more different games at major tournaments (World Cup/Euros) are Dennis Bergkamp (10), Robin van Persie (8), and Wesley Sneijder (7).
Player to Watch
Cody Gakpo
Going by the early games, the Netherlands clearly lacked a talismanic figure in their attacking third, and Ronald Koeman might have found Gakpo could be that player. With a stellar display against Romania in the round-of-16 clash, the Liverpool man thoroughly announced himself at the Euros.
With a goal and an assist to his name, Gakpo even took the gloss off Donyell Malen’s brace, as he is now the Netherlands’ standout star in this competition. Koeman will expect more from the forward in these crucial knockout games, as Gakpo must put in top-notch performances to help his team propel to greater heights.
Prediction
Netherlands 3-1 Turkiye
Turkiye showed Austria that they can overcome adversity and get a result through sheer hard work. In that game, they had the advantage of an early goal, which provided them with a base and something crucial to defend, which they did in style.
The Netherlands are a different cup of tea for Turkiye’s taste, as Ronald Koeman’s men have the attacking prowess to pierce through that defence. Moreover, the Oranje also have the right players at the back to keep things tight there, as Koeman’s attackers might get the job done in regulation time.