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The Netherlands scored twice in six second-half minute to beat Turkey 2-1 and set up a Euro 2024 semi-final against England on Saturday.
Turkey defender Samet Akaydin had given his side a 10-minute lead before halftime with a powerful header Arda Güler. However, Stefan de Vrij equalized for the Netherlands, and Murt Muldur truned his own net after 76 minutes under pressure from Cody Gakpo, giving the Dutch the victory.
Turkey was playing the match without its match-winner in the round of 16, Merih Demiral, after he was suspended for two games following a controversial salute.
Demiral scored twice in Turkey’s 2-1 win against Austria and celebrated by making a gesture known as the “Wolf salute”, a gesture associated with the Turkish right-wing extremist group “Grey Wolves.”
Netherlands captain, Virgil van Dijk said, “How is my heart? It’s fine. You know they’re going to take a lot of risks, but now we’re in the semi-finals. This is very important and very beautiful, with such a crowd. We knew there would be a lot of Turks in the stadium, but I’m proud of these guys.”
“In the end we got sloppy, but actually we didn’t give anything away. In the second half, we had to stay calm and take advantage of our chances. Of course, we thought it would be fine, it would be very bad if we didn’t think so. We are one step closer. We can get to work!”
Hakan Calhanoglu, Turkey captian said “I am proud to have come this far. Everyone represented their country in the best possible way. I would like to thank all my team-mates.”
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