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Mert Gunok, the goalkeeper for Turkiye, made an absolutely incredible save at UEFA Euro 2024 to prevent Christoph Baumgartner from netting an equalizer. Turkiye's 2-1 victory over Austria in the round of 16 at Euro 2024 provided plenty of drama on Tuesday. Merih Demiral scored twice to put Turkiye ahead, but goalie Gunok also had a hand in the victory with a spectacular late save.
With 57 seconds remaining, centre-back Merih Demiral netted the second-fastest goal throughout the history of the European Championship, giving Vincenzo Montella's team the finest possible start. Demiral, who posed a serious aerial danger the whole knockout stage match, added another close-range strike in the 59th minute to extend Turkey's lead. Austria deserves credit for not giving up and Michael Gregoritsch, who displayed excellent mobility at the back post, pulled one back after exerting pressure in forward areas.
The attacking zones appeared to be problematic for Ralf Rangnick's side. In fact, when Christoph Baumgartner got his head onto an inch-perfect cross, and gave them hope that it appeared as though he was going to equalise in the last moments.
What a save by Mert 🇹🇷pic.twitter.com/MUjSyyLIXu
— حسن الناقور Mr.Nagoor (@hasanalnaqour) July 2, 2024
Who are Turkiye going to face in their UEFA Euro 2024 quarter-final
Early in the competition, Ralf Rangnick's team showed potential as they defeated group rivals France and the Netherlands to advance to the knockout stages. Das Team recovered well from their tournament opening tight loss to Les Bleus to win consecutive games versus Poland and the Netherlands. However, Demiral's early goals clinched the deal for Turkiye on Tuesday, ending their journey.
The Crescent-Stars' next game is scheduled for Saturday night in the quarterfinal against a hot Dutch team. Ronaldo Koeman's team defeated Romania earlier today to go to the round of eight. This would be one of the most fierce fixtures of the tournament and even though Netherlands look favourites, they cannot take Turkiye lightly whatsoever. The winner of the game would book a spot in the final four of the competition.