Match 43 - Netherlands 3-0 Romania
To come through top of a group with a strong Belgium team, and then be up against a strong Netherlands team, feels like punishment rather than reward, and Romania would have to do better than in the group as there would be no second chances available.
Netherlands never gave them the chance. With two-thirds of the posession they peppered the Romanian goal to the point they had more shots on target, 6, than Romania managed in the match, 5.
Still. by half time it was only one-nil thanks to a Gakpo goal and all it needed was a quick break upfield and it could be level. There was one chance for such but a foul was called against the Romanians and in the frustration of trying to figure out how the collision could be deemed anything but a natural part of football, the captain Stanciu was carded.
Netherlands continued to press and, in the 83rd minute, Gakpo showed determination and deftness to keep the ball inside the line as he headed towards goal. His pass was prodded in by the waiting Malen. Ten minutes later, with Romania desperately pressing, they were dispossessed and Malen picked up the ball about ten metres inside his own half. He turned and ran. At the edge of the box he twisted and turned, creating space to go inside and, while two defenders with him were wrong-footed and a third caught between going for the ball or covering the player behind him, Malen struck and the ball slid past a keeper who was just weighted to the wrong side and unable to leap.
Possession and pressure wise 3-0 was probably a fair reflection of the game.
Match 44 - Austria 1-2 Türkiye
The fastest goal in EURO's knock out stage history put Türkiye one goal up on fifty seconds. Austria worked their hardest to come back but the 60% possession, the 31 touches in the box and 21 shots resulted in a single goal on the 66th minute.
By then Türkiye were 2-0 up.
In a frantic, frenetic, final half hour Austria piled on more pressure and Türkiye soaked it up, absorbed it, turned it into fire absorbent material which dampened the best Austrian efforts.
A break away could have settled the tie but the shot was a poor one. With 4 minutes of extra-time played the final Austrian chance came but Gunok pulls off what may end up as the save of the tournament and Türkiye will be playing Netherlands on Saturday evening.
| Match Number | Teams | 1st Half Score | 2nd Half Score | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Match | Netherlands v Romania | 1-0 | 2-0 | 3-0 |
| Match | Austria v Türkiye | 0-1 | 1-1 | 1-2 |
| Total Matchday Goals | 2 | 4 | 6 | |
| Total Tournament Goals | 101 | 48 | 53 |
Next up are the Quarter-Finals
On Friday there is:
5pm Spain v Germany
8pm Portugal v France
On Saturday there is:
5pm England v Switzerland
8pm Netherlands v Türkiye
Tomorrow, I'll do a review of my pre-round guesses and make some for the Quarter-Finals.
text by stuartcturnbull art by UEFA & altered by stuartcturnbull