Flawed, emotional and nothing to lose - Netherlands v Turkey could be Euro 2024’s best game
The Oranje and the Crescent Stars clash in what might be one of the tournament’s craziest meetings, if form so far is anything to go by
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Your support makes all the difference.With 11 goals either scored or conceded, Netherlands are bettered by only three teams at the tournament at the end of the last 16 for viewing entertainment: Hosts Germany with 12; then Austria, who have gone home, and Turkey, who sent them there, both with 13.
Appropriate, then, that while other quarter-final ties have had the focus on who will win, who will be favourites for overall success and who will get a misfiring forward back on track, the fourth and final tie of the last eight might simply be a shootout from the start, a free-for all with recent history on the line and enormous opportunity ahead.
Simply put, Turkey and Netherlands were not really expected to reach the semi-final stage, but one of them will do so - and will have arguably been the most watchable nation left in the tourmanent by the time they sew up their place.
That is in part because of the end result - goals - but also because the makeup of both sides and the position they were in prior to Euro 2024 starting simply lend themselves to a chaotic style of play: they are not the most refined, not the most talented throughout and not even necessarily both at their strongest.
But they’ve found a way to this point. By third-placed rules, late goals and wild celebrations amid all the colour in the stands these two nations combine for, Turkey and Netherlands might just come together to produce the game of the summer.
It’s easy to forget, but despite some big teams and names in bygone years, neither has a strong recent record at major men’s tournaments.
Turkey have been to precisely one World Cup since 1954, for example. Qualification for the European Championship is more regular, but even so they hadn’t been past the group stage in almost two decades, including a no-show at Euro 2012. Netherlands’ last three editions of the Euros reads group exit, failed to qualify and last 16, locked around a failure to reach the 2018 World Cup too - and ahead of this tournament they lost an entire three-man midfield to injury.
And yet here they both are, only five nations left in the tournament by the time they kick off and a semi-final opponent who won’t exactly terrify them, given Switzerland also don’t have much recent pedigree and England have flattered to deceive to a huge extent in Germany, up until the last-eight clash between the two.
A final is there for the taking for the team brave enough, good enough or lucky enough to go for it.
And what do they have to lose?
They’ve both already achieved “progress”, both already getting a round further than they had much right to expect pre-tournament. Maybe most importantly, both have shown they can be at their best when attacking.
Turkey held out manfully against Austria, but it was backs-to-the-wall and every ounce of effort required to do so, having already imploded defensively against Portugal and shown the capacity to lose control of the game before that against Georgia.
Netherlands are maybe more capable defensively, given the names they have, but when sitting back they have really struggled to get back on the front foot in matches - their set-up, their strengths, their in-form players are all best-utilised by trying to dominate matches and open up the opponent.
The Oranje are less chaotic than their next rivals, more structured in build-up play, less likely to collapse mentally on the evidence of the last three or four weeks. And, only Spain have created more statistically-defined “big chances” than Netherlands, but they’ve missed ten of 14.
Meanwhile Turkey have scored three of their seven goals within either minutes zero to one, or beyond the 90 mark.
And that’s just goals, without considering the rest of the emotion surrounding them: the incredible 94th-minute save by Mert Gunok in the last round to keep them ahead against Austria; the reaction to a two-match ban for match-winner Merih Demiral for his celebrations after that game, the out-on-their-feet collapses by half the side when the final whistle went in that victory.
They’ll also have key playmaker Hakan Calhanoglu back in a boost, but two others suspended in a new blow, including the influential Orkun Kokcu.
Their in-game performance swing has tended to be far more emotional, playing off their fierce backing in the crowd and the status of the match - they can be great chasers, but only if they overcome that initial penchant for following one slip-up with another.
It is undeniably huge for them to have both returned to the last-eight stage, but a similarly enormous chance presents itself to go one further. The thing is, that applies to both teams equally - and it might just lead to the game of the tournament as a result.
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