Turkey sealed a 2-1 victory against Austria on Tuesday night and booked a tie against The Netherlands in the quarter-finals of Euro 2024, thanks to a sensational brace from Merih Demiral.
It took just 57 seconds for Turkey to take the lead, with Demiral smashing a left-footed shot into the roof of the net as a Austria scrambled to clear Arder Guler’s in-swinging corner into the penalty area.
It was the fastest goal ever scored in the knockout stages of the European Championship.
Turkey would go in at half time with a 1-0 lead but a frantic second half followed as rain began to pour in at the Red Bull Arena.
Demiral would double his side’s lead in the 59th minute, again from a corner, rising high above the Austrian backline to head in a ball from Guler.
But their two-goal cushion would not last for long, with Michael Gregoritsch pulling a goal back for Ralf Rangnick’s side seven minutes later, tapping in Stefan Posch’s header from a set piece.
An outerwordly save from Mert Gunok would deny Austria a last-minute equaliser with the goalkeeper palming the ball away from his line.
More to follow…
