BERLIN, July 2 (Xinhua) — Merih Demiral’s double strike was enough for Türkiye to eliminate stubborn Austria 2-1 in a Euro 2024 round of 16 match at Leipzig’s Red Bull Arena on Tuesday.

The Turks had a fairy tale start to the clash, scoring the fastest goal in the knockout stages of the Euro tournament as Austria couldn’t clear the ball following a corner, allowing Demiral to tap home the opener just 57 seconds into the game.

Austria responded with furious attacks, but Christoph Baumgartner missed two chances to restore parity. The Austrians struggled to create more chances against Türkiye’s well-organized defense and failed to produce clear-cut opportunities before the break. Meanwhile, Vincenzo Montella’s side remained dangerous, with Demiral heading over the target following another corner kick.

After the restart, Austria came out with momentum and kept Türkiye’s defense busy. However, Marco Arnautovic couldn’t beat goalkeeper Mert Gunok, and Konrad Laimer pulled wide from a promising position moments later.

Despite Austria’s pressure, it was Montella’s side that scored against the flow of the game. Demiral nodded home his second goal from a corner, making it two for Türkiye.

Austria managed to answer and halve the deficit through substitute Michael Gregoritsch, who sparked hopes after drilling a flicked-on corner into the roof of the net with plenty of time left to play.

Austria went in search of the equalizer, throwing every man forward, while Türkiye kept all their men behind the ball, waiting for counterattack opportunities. Baris Yilmaz had the golden chance to finish off one of those counterattacks but missed the target from inside the box with only goalkeeper Patrick Pentz to beat.

Rangnick’s side nearly restored parity in the dying seconds of the match, but Gunok denied Baumgartner’s close-range header with a one-handed parry on the goal line.

With this result, Türkiye advanced to the quarterfinals for the first time since 2008, where they will face the Netherlands at Berlin’s Olympia Stadium on Saturday.

“We didn’t have the necessary luck, and I believe if the game had gone to extra time, we would have won. We had time to score an equalizer. We didn’t make enough of our own chances, and we didn’t defend their set pieces well enough,” said Austria coach Rangnick.

Source(s): Xinhua

BERLIN, July 1 (Xinhua) — Portugal goalkeeper Diogo Costa denied three penalties in the shootout to eliminate a stubborn Slovenia 3-0 in their Euro 2024 last 16 match at Frankfurt’s Deutsche-Bank-Park on Monday.

Portugal dominated possession from the kickoff, pressing Slovenia onto the back foot in the opening stages.

However, Robert Martinez’s men struggled to convert their dominance into goals, with Cristiano Ronaldo and Bruno Fernandes both missing close-range opportunities.

Slovenia defended resolutely, keeping all their players behind the ball. Ronaldo had a chance from a promising free-kick position at the half-hour mark but sent it over the target.

In the closing stages of the first half, Slovenia could have caught Portugal flatfooted, but Petar Stojanovic opted for a square pass instead of taking a shot on goal.

Portugal continued to be the more active team after the restart, while Slovenia remained largely passive.

Slovenia’s goalkeeper, Jan Oblak, frustrated Ronaldo by neutralizing a free kick in the 55th minute and a dangerous long-range shot in the closing period.

In extra time, Ronaldo had a golden opportunity to break the deadlock when Diogo was fouled inside the box. However, he couldn’t beat Oblak from the penalty spot in the 105th minute.

Slovenia showed signs of life in the 115th minute but missed a crucial chance when Benjamin Sesko failed to beat Diogo Costa in a one-on-one situation.

After a goalless draw, the match went to a penalty shootout. Ronaldo finally beat Oblak from the spot to open the scoring.

Goalkeeper Diogo Costa then single-handedly helped Portugal progress by denying penalties from Josip Ilicic, Jure Balkovec, and Benjamin Verbic. Bernardo Silva sealed the victory with his successful penalty.

With this result, Portugal will face France in the quarterfinals at Hamburg’s Volksparkstadion.

“I was sad and then happy. It went back and forth, but that’s football. It is all or nothing. I tried to clinch the win for my team, but I failed to do so. I was unhappy, nonetheless, Oblak saved well today. We had to work hard, but we are through now. I think it is a deserved win as Slovenia defended only,” said Ronaldo.

Source(s): Xinhua

BERLIN, June 30 (Xinhua) — Spain recovered from one goal down to overpower stubborn Georgia 4-1 in Euro 2024 round of 16 at Cologne’s sold-out Rhein-Energie Stadium on Sunday.

Spain started on the front foot and created several chances in the opening stage, but Georgia goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili was equal to the efforts from Daniel Carvajal and Pedri, while Nico Williams pulled wide from the edge of the box.

The opener was scored at the end of the pitch though and with great assistance of Spain defender Robin Le Normand, who cleared Otar Kakabadze’s cross into the wrong goal giving Georgia the 1-0 lead in the 18th minute.

Spain responded with furious attacks and had to wait as Fabian Ruiz, Pedri and Marc Cucurella couldn’t beat Mamardashvili, who had his hands full of work.

Luis de la Fuente’s men got eventually rewarded for their power play just before the half time as Williams teed up for Rodri, whose left-footed shot into the bottom right corner left Mamardashvili chanceless in the 39th minute.

Georgia remained dangerous after the break as Khvicha Kvaratskhelia tried to catch Spain custodian Unai Simon flat-footed with a shot from the distance.

Spain went in search of the lead and made it 2-1 with 51 minutes gone as Lamine Yamal’s pinpoint cross found Ruiz, who nodded home from close range.

Georgia went all in and got caught off-guard following a counterattack as Fabian’s long ball allowed Williams to finish the job with a solo run and hammer into the roof of the net in the 75th minute.

The relentless Spaniards weren’t done with the scoring and made it four in the closing stage after Dani Olmo’s low strike beat Mamardashvili into the bottom left corner.

With the victory, three-time Euro champion Spain clashes with tournament host Germany in Stuttgart’s MHP Arena on Friday.

“It was as expected, a tough match for us. We knew that, but we made our own life difficult in the first half. We were also nervous after we conceded the goal but responded well with the equalizer before halftime. We must show our best football against tournament hosts Germany now,” said Spain’s player of the match Rodri.

Source(s): Xinhua