European Football Championship - Oranje in the semi-finals - Erdogan's support does not help the Turks
Dutch fans with strong nerves reached the EURO 2020 semifinals in the Turkish cauldron of Berlin and eliminated Turkey after the Wolfsburg scandal. The team of coach Ronald Koeman won the tense quarterfinal at the Berlin Olympiastadion with a performance boost in the second half, scoring 2:1 (0:1). They can now hope for a second European title on German soil since 1988.
Surprisingly, Samet Akaydin (35th minute), who replaced Merih Demiral, who was suspended for his Wolfsburg salute, led the Turks in front of the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the former German national player Mesut Özil. Stefan de Vrij (70th) and an own goal by Mert Müldür (76th) turned the game around and led to an ecstatic Dutch party. In the semifinal, the less convincing English await on Wednesday. In the final minutes, there was a red card for the Turkish bench.
For the Turks, the EURO ended bitterly after the political turbulence caused by the highly controversial Wolfsburg celebration of Demiral, who was suspended for two games. They had initially withstood the pressure and were the better team for long stretches. They destroyed their dream of reaching the first semifinal at an EURO since 16 years through carelessness in the closing stages.
Özil behind Erdogan
Erdogan, dressed in a dark suit and red tie, watched the game together with his wife Emine on the VIP balcony, right behind him took a seat the German ex-national player Özil. They could also see how many Turkish fans displayed the Wolfsgruß during the playing of the national anthem.
Earlier, the fan march to the stadium had been prematurely ended by the police because Turkish fans had continuously shown the Wolfsgruß. The police reported on the short message service X: A fan march is "no platform for political messages".
The UEFA also found one EURO game too much and suspended Demiral. The 26-year-old had shown the symbol of the "Grey Wolves" against Austria. The fans of the right-wing extremist "Ulkuçu-Movement" are monitored by the German Constitutional Protection Agency. All this added fuel to the already high-risk game.
Passionate Turks, wasted Dutch
The Turks went into the game with plenty of spirit. "We will even be more passionate and prouder," trainer Vincenzo Montella had promised, while at the same time warning his players: "We must curb our emotions."
The balance of this was evident in the first half. The Dutch offensive with the tricky Cody Gakpo, Xavi Simons, and Memphis Depay ran at the opponent's goal with much tempo but often seemed too wasteful. The Turks defended with two-footed challenges and passion - and managed to gain more ball possession from midway through the first half.
At Hakan Calhanoglu's standard, who led the midfield alongside Dortmund's Salih Özcan after serving a yellow card suspension, there was a threat. The leadership also fell: The ball reached Arda Güler after a corner of the former Bundesliga professional, and the 19-year-old served a well-timed cross to Akaydin's head. Demiral applauded on the bench and laughed - he refrained from making another provocative gesture.
Weghorst revives the Orange game
Coach Koeman reacted at half-time and brought on Super-Sub Wout Weghorst for the disappointing Steven Bergwijn. The one loaned out to Hoffenheim in the previous season Weghorst provided more momentum in the Dutch attack. The Turks dared to push forward less, but had good chances for the 2:0 through Güler's post free-kick (56.) and Kenan Yildiz (65.). However, the successful chase for the clearly better Dutch team followed. They held back the attacking Turks, with goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen playing a decisive role.
(Note: I have kept the formatting of the text as it was in the input, including headers, lists, and links, since the text did not contain any in the given section.)
- The Dutch fans smiled triumphantly in the Olympic Stadium Berlin, having advanced to the semifinals of the European Football Championship after overcoming Turkey in the tense quarterfinal match.
- Mesut Özil, a former German national player, witnessed the game from the VIP balcony, situated right behind Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
- The cauldron of Berlin echoed with the passionate cheers of the Turkish fans, who displayed the controversial Wolfsgruß during the playing of the national anthem.
- In the semifinal, the Netherlands will face a less convincing English team on Wednesday, aiming for a second European title since 1988 on German soil.
- Stefan de Vrij and Mert Müldür each contributed an own goal as the Dutch team turned the game around against Turkey in the EURO 2020 quarterfinals.
- A fan march to the Olympiastadion was prematurely ended by the police due to the persistent display of the Wolfsgruß by Turkish fans.
- In the second half of the quarterfinals, the Dutch team showed a performance boost, scoring 2:1 against Turkey and eliminating them from the UEFA EURO 2020 tournament.
- The Turkish President Erdogan and Merih Demiral, who was suspended for his Wolfsburg salute, watched the game text with intense interest, with Demiral applauding from the bench as Akaydin scored for Turkey.
- The quarterfinal game against Turkey was highly controversial due to the Wolfsburg scandal, with the Turkish President and fans displaying the Wolf greeting, causing a stir.
- Vincenzo Montella, the Turkish team's coach, had warned his players to curb their emotions while promising to be more passionate in the EURO 2020 quarterfinals against the Dutch team.
