Netherlands Set to Face Turkey in Thrilling Euro 2024 Quarterfinal Clash

Johan Cruyff. Dennis Bergkamp. Clarence Seedorf. Edwin van der Sar. Arjen Robben. Robin van Persie. Wesley Sneijder.

Champions League winners, league title winners and a Ballon d’Or winner among them, but none of these men won a major international honour. For a country that has produced the number of supremely talented footballers that the Netherlands has, it’s almost improbable that UEFA Euro 1988 is the only major tournament ever won by the Oranje. That could all change later this month.

Ronald Koeman, a member of the Netherlands team that won the Euro in Germany back in ’88, has the chance for a repeat performance as he leads his Oranje side into the quarter-finals for the eighth time at a Euro and the first time since 2008. The Netherlands see a real path to a Euro final, but will have to contend with a Turkiye side who have played some of the most exciting football of the tournament first. The two countries meet with a spot in the semis on the line on Saturday in Berlin.

You can catch the Netherlands vs. Turkiye LIVE at UEFA Euro 2024 from Berlin with coverage getting underway at 2pm et/11am pt on TSN4, CTV, TSN.ca and the TSN App.

The match will mark the first time that the two countries have met at a major tournament before.

For Turkiye, the trip to the quarters is just the nation’s third at a Euro and fourth at a major tournament. Like the Oranje, it’s the first time they’re in the final eight since 2008.

‘‘I couldn’t sleep until 3am afterwards,” Benfica midfielder Orkun Kokcu, who is suspended for the quarters, said of the 2-1 win over Austria in the Round of 16. “I talked about the game with [Fenerbahce defender] Ferdi Kadioglu, my roommate, until that time. We produced a good performance in that game. I hope we can continue like this.’’

The victory over Austria was preserved by an absolute 10-bell save by Mert Gunok on Christoph Baumgartner from point-blank range in stoppage time.

“Mert did a great job, we had a big discussion after the final whistle and I couldn’t believe my eyes – maybe one of the best saves I saw with my own eyes,” veteran defender Merih Demiral, who scored both of Turkiye’s goals in the victory, said. “He deserves it, Mert is the oldest player on the team and has always guided us and shown us the path forward, so I am very happy he made that save.”

Turkiye manager Vincenzo Montella, who was a runner-up at Euro 2000 with Italy as a player, is thrilled to have fans dreaming.

“We’ve got huge following,” Montella said. “There’s passion and the love is really visceral back home in Turkey, so I’m very happy to have handed Turks a bit of pride.”

The excitement amongst Turkish fans in Germany has been palpable, too, with the nation home to one of the largest Turkish diasporas in the world. Veteran Oranje…