Türkiye set up Euros quarterfinal date with Dutch

Türkiye will face the Netherlands in the quarterfinals of Euro 2024 after winning a thriller with Austria 2-1 as both countries reached the last eight of a European Championship for the first time since 2008.

Merih Demiral was the unlikely hero for Türkiye, in soaking Leipzig, after bundling his team ahead with less than a minute on the clock and then thumping in the decisive header just before the hour mark.

Al-Ahli center-back Demiral became the first European defender to score twice in the knockout stages of a major tournament since Lilian Thuram for France at the 1998 World Cup.

Vincenzo Montella's side, which was missing suspended captain Hakan Çalhanoğlu but once again backed by massive support at the Zentralstadion, will take on the Dutch in Berlin on July 6 after their comfortable 3-0 win over Romania earlier on June 2.

Türkiye was beaten 6-1 by Austria in March and Montella admitted he was hoping to get his own back for that embarrassing defeat.

"We were heavily criticized for our friendly results. They didn't pan out well and the peak of that was against Austria," Montella told reporters.

"That was a horrible stain on my career. That was the team I was waiting for to get this monkey off my back. We coaches, like players, we are competitors and I have that deep competitive instinct in me to reverse this result," he added.

"This wasn't exacting revenge but me setting things right because I've never lost by this scoreline in my coaching career."

Türkiye will again be able to count on its raucous fans in the German capital as the country aims to replicate its run to the last four from 16 years ago.

That tournament was cohosted by Austria, which played a full part in an engrossing match and on...