Turkey (or Turkiye for the geopolitically conscious folks) faces off with Austria tonight in what has been described to be a high-octane event as each team seeks to advance to the quarter-finals. The match will be played at the Leipzig stadium in Leipzig.
While Turkey boasts many outstanding and exciting individual offensive players who are free to express themselves, Austria will press quickly and fiercely and hold Turkey hostage who are being described as the underdogs in this duel. Given this, there are two vulnerabilities in the defense. It just yells cards and goals.
The Oranje (Netherlands) and favorites France were drawn together in a difficult match for Ralf Rangnick's team, they managed to earn 6 points out of a possible 9 to top the standings in their group, surpassing Les Bleus, who were unexpectedly held to a 1-1 draw by Poland, who had already been eliminated.
Following an initial loss to France and a 3-1 victory over Poland, Austria captain Marcel Sabitzer struck a winner in the 80th minute to seize first place after they had twice squandered the lead.
Even though the Austrians, who were the hosts in 2008 and again eight years later, failed to advance past the group stage of their first two Euros, this achievement alone is noteworthy. Therefore, tonight’s match is being keenly observed and awaited to gauge their performance and strength.
Austria has only seen four additional major event knockout rounds, including the World Cups in 1934 and 1954, as well as Euro 2020, where they were ousted 2-1 by Italy in the round of 16. As a result, there isn't much pressure, but based on their performance thus far, they appear to have a good chance of moving forward in this competition and who knows, they might play their big Germanic brother, Germany, in the finals. Both Austria and Germany speak German as a native language and therefore a Germanic Euro 2024 finals is something that is on the table.
Earlier in March this year, Austria managed to put 6 past Turkey while Turkey managed only a single goal in an international friendly
“The team knows full well that no matter who we play against, if we give our best performance, we can beat any opponent. But the players are still completely grounded and know exactly what’s important. The energy we bring to the field is what has made us a special team so far.” Austrian coach Ralf Rangnick told AP in an interview.
Turkey advanced to the semifinals of Euro 2008 and is hoping for another strong run in this year’s competition. However, Italian coach Vincenzo Montella's team struggled to defeat the 10-man Czech Republic in the last game after being thrashed 3-0 by Portugal in the previous game. Turkey advanced to the knockout stage as the runner-up in Group F. Due to a run of yellow cards, Calhanoglu and defender Samet Akaydin are suspended for Turkey, while ten other players, including Arda Guler and Kenan Yildiz, could miss the team's next game if they receive more bookings.
In their past 17 meetings, Austria has had a stronger record with nine victories over Turkey's seven. One draw was present. The six goals Austria has scored in Euro 2024 have come from various players. For the fourth time in a row, Austria is participating in the Euros tournament. In the previous tournament, eventual champions Italy finished its campaign in the round of 16. This is Turkey's sixth and third consecutive tournament appearance in the Euros tournament.
Turkey has previously won a competitive penalty shootout against Croatia 4–2 in the quarterfinals of the 2008 European Championship meanwhile Austria has never participated in one. Calhanoglu and Arnautovic, both captains, contributed to Inter Milan's Serie A victory in the previous season. Now they have to face each other.
Borussia Dortmund colleagues Marcel Sabitzer from Austria and Salih Ozcan from Turkey, together with Vienna-born defender Mert Muldur from Turkey, are all members of the team. Along with Austrian stars Niklas Hedl and Leopold Querfeld, the Fenerbahce player was a member of Rapid Vienna's youth ranks.
Should Austria triumph, the Dutch might face off quickly in Berlin. The victor of this matchup will take on either Romania or the Netherlands in the quarterfinals on Saturday for this year's Euros. I call it for Austria.
