EURO 2024 QF | Netherlands 2-1 Turkey: Inter stars end Montella dream | OneFootball

Vincenzo Montella’s Turkey had taken the lead, but Inter defender Stefan de Vrij scored and Denzel Dumfries assisted Cody Gakpo to send the Netherlands through to the EURO 2024 semi-final against England.

There was a lot of Italian representation in both teams, above all coach Montella, who had Inter midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu back from suspension, but Merih Demiral, Orkuk Kokcu and Ismail Yusek were all banned. Juventus forward Kenan Yildiz started with Arda Guler as a False 9. Inter pair Dumfries and De Vrij represented the Dutch with Milan midfielder Tijjani Reijnders.

Memphis Depay and Salih Ozcan fired early chances off target, while Abdulkerim Bardakci couldn’t control his volley on a Calhanoglu free kick.

It was Turkey who took the lead when Samet Akaydin nodded in the Arda Guler cross to the back post after a corner was initially cleared. There were two other teammates queuing up to meet it, as the Netherlands defence got it all wrong and once again Montella’s set play routines paid off.

Arda Guler almost made it 2-0, his low free kick bending around the wall to thump the base of the far post on 55 minutes.

Depay’s shot was charged down in the box, while Bart Verbruggen parried a Kenan Yildiz scorcher and a desperate Wout Weghorst tackle prevented Kaan Ayhan turning in the rebound.

The Netherlands equalised with a Stefan de Vrij free header from a short corner routine and Depay cross, finding the Inter defender unmarked from 12 yards. He had not scored for his country since March 2015.

They turned it around six minutes later, as Denzel Dumfries rolled across from the right for Cody Gakpo to bundle over the line at the back post in a tangle with Mert Muldur.

Goalscorer Samet Akaydin had to be stretchered off after a collision with Micky van de Ven, but Turkey had a huge double opportunity on 85 minutes with both Roma’s Zeki Celik and then Kerem Akturkoglu seeing shots charged down, the former practically a van de Ven goal-line clearance.

Bologna striker Joshua Zirkzee got the first minutes of the tournament as a late substitute and Gakpo forced a save, but in stoppages only a fantastic one-handed Verbruggen save denied Semih Kilicsoy the equaliser.

Netherlands 2-1 Turkey

Samet Akaydin 35 (T), De Vrij 70 (N), Muldur og 76 (N)