Euro 2024: Can the Netherlands follow up their reassuring victory against Romania?

Battling it out for a place in the semi-finals, the Netherlands will face Turkey this weekend after their reassuring victory over Romania in the Round of 16. The winner of this match will face the winner of the England vs Switzerland quarter-final fixture on 10th July in Dortmund.

The Netherlands made it past the group stage qualifiers as one of the best third-placed teams, while Turkey ranked second behind Christiano Ronaldo’s Portugal. However, the Oranje are hoping to end their 36-year drought after last winning the tournament in 1998. But will the Crescent Stars quash their hopes as they attempt to reach their first Euro championship final?

Here’s a preview of this thrilling quarter-final fixture as the race to the Euro 2024 finals gets intense.

Will Turkey etch their name on history books?

Group D proved to be the most challenging to predict at the Euro 2024 tournament as Austria rose against all odds to clinch the top spot. That left the Netherlands in third place behind tournament favorites, France. However, the Dutch didn’t make any mistakes in the Round of 16 as they crashed Romania 3-0 to secure a reassuring victory.

Cody Gakpo opened the Oranje’s scoring surge before Donyell Malen recorded a double late in the game to secure their entry into the quarter-finals. Ronald Koeman’s men have recorded seven wins so far, one draw, and two losses in their last 10 fixtures. Koeman hopes to see his side return to their first Euro championship semi-final since 2004.

Their opponents on the other hand are on an upward trajectory in the Euro championship and have previously beaten the Netherlands twice although the Dutch won in their last fixture. The Crescent Stars are in good form in terms of the goals recorded so far, currently ranking third behind Spain and Germany.

That said, data analysis on the Netherlands against Turkey suggests this quarter-final fixture will record over 2.5 Goals. Both sides can be quite explosive in their attacks and vulnerable on the defense, even when the stakes are high. However, the Turks are backed by a huge following in Germany where many people of Turkish descent live. 

How the Netherlands are expected to line up against Turkey

Ronald Koeman will have his full squad at his disposal for this quarter-final fixture as the Netherlands have no suspensions or injury concerns. The Dutch manager is likely to use a similar starting lineup as the one he used to crash Romania in the round of 16. However, he might make a slight change and we might see Steven Bergwijn start the game on the bench.

Bergwijn had an eventful first half during their last game before being withdrawn at halftime and replaced with Donyell Malen who recorded a double to secure their 3-0 victory. Donyell is expected to start along with Memphis Depay and Cody Gakpo this Saturday.

Turkey, on the other side, will welcome Samet Akaydin and captain Hakan Calhanoglu back for this game after they were forced to miss their last game after a suspension. That will force Ismail Yuksek into a brief watching break after getting his second caution when playing Austria. Orkun Kokcu is also out on suspension, although he was likely to sit out of this game after suffering an injury earlier this week. That leaves Merih Demiral as their only hope for this game.