With a 2:1 victory against Turkey, Holland snatched the last semi-final ticket of the European Championship and will face England in Dortmund on Wednesday. It is the first European Championship semi-final appearance for the Dutch in 20 years.
Six strong minutes were enough for the Dutch to secure their place in the semi-finals. In the 70th minute, defender Stefan de Vrij scored from a corner and Memphis Depay's cross to make it 1:1 and shortly after the start of the final quarter of an hour, Cody Gakpo made it 2:1.
Turkey, something like the second home team at this European Championship, found themselves robbed of the reward for their good work within a very short space of time in front of their vociferous fans in Berlin. For most of the time, the Turks made an excellent, solid impression and set the tone. The astonishing 19-year-old Arda Güler, still mostly a substitute at Real Madrid, was often partly responsible for the attacking highlights. In the 35th minute, his cross found the completely free Samet Akaydin, who scored with his head to make it 1-0. And in the 56th minute, only the post prevented the teenager from scoring from a free kick.
The 2:0 was in the air more often than the 1:1. It was only thanks to goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen that the second goal was prevented in the 65th minute. This save was the wake-up call for the Elftal, who now attacked with more vigor and more personnel and were promptly rewarded. A short corner kick confused the Turkish defense for the first time before the 0:1. Later, it was Denzel Dumfries' low cross that allowed Gakpo to score his fourth European Championship goal in an unconventional manner. This makes the Liverpool striker the top scorer at this tournament.
The decisive figure, however, was De Vrij. The experienced defender, a team-mate of Dumfries and Yann Sommer at Inter Milan, not only scored his fourth international goal to make it 1:1, but later prevented a 2:2 for his beaten keeper. In general, the Turks showed a final offensive that deserved a goal. But after De Vrij, goalkeeper Verbruggen also made an impressive veto when he brilliantly saved 18-year-old Semih Kilicsoy's shot in stoppage time.
The Netherlands must beat England on Wednesday to secure their second European Championship final after winning it in 1988. Turkey, meanwhile, provided a sample of their capabilities. This team, coached by Italian Vincenzo Montella, is a force to be reckoned with in the future.
The telegram
Netherlands - Turkey 2:1 (0:1)
Berlin. - 70'091 spectators. - Ref Turpin. - Goals: 35. Akaydin 0:1. 70. De Vrij 1:1. 76. Müldür (own goal) 2:1.
Netherlands: Verbruggen; Dumfries, De Vrij, Van Dijk, Aké (73. Van de Ven); Schouten, Simons (87. Zirkzee), Reijnders (73. Veerman); Bergwijn (46. Weghorst), Depay (87. Frimpong), Gakpo.
Turkey: Günok; Müldür (72. Celik), Ayhan (89. Kilicsoy), Akaydin (72. Tosun), Bardakci, Kadioglu; Yilmaz, Özcan (77. Yokuslu), Calhanoglu, Yildiz (77. Aktürkoglu); Güler.
Comments: Netherlands complete. Turkey without Demiral, Kökcü and Yüksek (all suspended). 56th goal by Güler. Cautions: 30 for Simons, 54 for Aké, 64 for Van Dijk, 94 for Tosun, 94 for Montella (Turkey coach), 96 for Yildirim (Turkey substitute), 96 for Weghorst.
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The live ticker for the review
Netherlands
Turkey
- Stefan de Vrij - 1:1 (70.)
- Mert Müldür - 2:1 (76.)
- (35.) 0:1 - Samet Akaydin
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Liveticker
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Liveticker closed
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#Preview
German police end Turkish fan march because of wolf salute
The furor surrounding national team player Merih Demiral's wolf salute overshadows Turkey's European Championship quarter-final against the Netherlands in Berlin. Emergency services crack down on the fan march.
Because many Turkish supporters have continuously shown the controversial wolf salute, the Berlin police have stopped the fan march before the European Championship quarter-final against the Netherlands. The reason was "continued political messages", as the police announced on the "X" platform a few hours before kick-off at 21:00 on Saturday.
Turkish fans were asked by loudspeaker announcements to move to the stadium individually if they had a ticket for the match, it added.
The officials had already interrupted the fan march for the first time around an hour earlier and appealed to the Turkish fans to refrain from making the gesture. A fan march is "not a platform for political messages", the police wrote.
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90.+7.End of 2nd half
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90.+6.Yellow card Netherlands
Wout Weghorst
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90.+6.Red card Turkey (direct)
Bertug Yildirim
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90.+3.Yellow card Turkey
Cenk Tosun
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89.Substitution in Turkey
Semih Kilicsoy
Striker
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89.Substitution out Turkey
Kaan Ayhan
Defender
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87.Substitution in Netherlands
Joshua Zirkzee
Striker
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87.Substitution out Netherlands
Xavi Simons
Midfielder
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87.Substitution in Netherlands
Jeremie Frimpong
Defender
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87.Substitution out Netherlands
Memphis Depay
Striker
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82.Substitution in Turkey
Zeki Çelik
Defender
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82.Substitution out Turkey
Mert Müldür
Defender
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82.Substitution in Turkey
Cenk Tosun
Striker
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82.Substitution out Turkey
Samet Akaydin
Defender
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77.Substitution in Turkey
Kerem Aktürkoglu
Midfielder
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77.Substitution out Turkey
Kenan Yildiz
Midfielder
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77.Substitution in Turkey
Okay Yokuslu
Midfielder
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77.Substitution out Turkey
Salih Özcan
Midfielder
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76.Goal for Netherlands, 2:1 through an own goal by Mert Müldür
Mert Müldür
Defender
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73.Substitution in Netherlands
Micky van de Ven
Defender
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73.Substitution out Netherlands
Nathan Aké
Defender
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73.Substitution in Netherlands
Joey Veerman
Midfielder
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73.Substitution out Netherlands
Tijjani Reijnders
Midfielder
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70.Goal for Netherlands, 1:1 through Stefan de Vrij (Memphis Depay)
Stefan de Vrij
Defender
Assist: Memphis Depay
Striker
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64.Yellow card Netherlands
Virgil van Dijk
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55.Yellow card Netherlands
Nathan Aké
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46.Substitution in Netherlands
Wout Weghorst
Striker
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46.Substitution out Netherlands
Steven Bergwijn
Striker
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46.Kick-off 2nd half
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45.+3.End of 1st half
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35.Goal for Turkey, 0:1 through Samet Akaydin (Arda Güler)
Samet Akaydin
Defender
Assist: Arda Güler
Midfielder
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30.Yellow card Netherlands
Xavi Simons
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1.Start of the match
