Leipzig, July 3 (IANS) Turkey scripted history as the side defeated Austria 2-1 to progress to the quarter-finals of the European Championship for the first time in 16 years.
Austria will be rueing their first half performance as a brace by Merih Demiral saw them trail by two goals in the first half, Rangnick’s side managed to get one goal back but were not able to find the back of the net for a second time.
“We didn’t have the necessary luck. I believe if the game had gone to extra time we would have had a chance to win, the Turks were fairly exhausted towards the end, but we had a physical advantage.
“We didn’t score enough goals, not enough chances and the set pieces, we didn’t defend well. For the second goal, we had three players very good at headers, but Demiral still scored, and if you’re two goals behind, it’s not easy,” said Rangnick to reporters in the post game conference.
Demiral became the first defender to score two goals in a game at a major tournament since John Stones against Panama in the 2018 World Cup.
Austria were tilted to be the favourites heading into the game, the side had finished top of Group D which also included the likes of France and Netherlands.
“The four games we played were very entertaining, including today’s game. Not everything was accurate, we could have played a few passes better. Four entertaining games, super intense – I saw games that were difficult to stay awake for, but that is not the case with us,” added Rangnik.
Mert Gunok was the hero for the Turkish side as the goalkeeper made an incredible save following a header by midfielder Christoph Baumgartner from ten yards out seemed to be going if it was not for the unbelievable save by the Turkish keeper.
“We are very happy, it is difficult to find words right now. It was a great win, I thank everyone who supported us, I thank our supporters, people and citizens who continued to support us and prayed for us. We still have a long way to go, if it’s God’s will we will go to the very end. We believe this. This win took us to the next level in terms of morale and confidence,” said Gunok.
–IANS
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