English 
Ist ein weiteres türkisches Wunder oder eine weitere holländische Gala im Anmarsch?
The biggest surprise (perhaps the only real surprise) of the last 16 was the Turkish team, who beat Austria 2-1, one of the secret favourites for the tournament. Vincenzo Montella’s side will now face an even tougher task as they take on the Netherlands, who have been impressive so far and have played some excellent football during the last eight.
Perhaps one of the most important aspects of the match will revolve around the Turkish absentees, as Hakan Calhanoglu and Samet Akaydin have served their bans, while Orkun Kikcu and Ismail Yuksek were sent off against Austria. Another important aspect is that
Mehdi Demiral, the full-back who scored a brace against Austria, has been banned for 2 matches by UEFA for a hand gesture in support of a terrorist organisation.
UEFA’s stance is clear: there is no place for politics on the pitch, so Demiral could next only play in the European Championship final.
Montella could therefore return to the Bardakci-Akaydin duo he saw at the start of the Euros, while Calhanoglu’s return could see the playmaker back in the starting line-up.
But beating Austria is hardly a must-have home game compared to what the Turks have to face now against the Netherlands, as the Tulipans‘ performance against Romania was quite demonstrative; Gakpo’s easy three was perhaps the smoothest of all the last eight.
The situation here is simple, Ronald Koeman has no injuries or suspensions, so he can send his favourite starter on the pitch, and if the machinery falters, he still has Donyell Malen, who doubled against Romania, to come on.
The battle of extremes
It will be an interesting match, if only because one of the most unsportsmanlike teams in the European Championship is playing one of the most unsportsmanlike, with the Turks averaging 4.5 yellow cards per game and the Dutch 1. It’s no wonder that the handicap at 20bet is -1 on the Turks.
However, our tip at 20bet is not for this market, but for goals. The creative attacking play of the Dutch is a huge step up from what we have seen from the Turks so far, at most it can be compared to the Portuguese.
We don’t even think Arda Güler’s side can stand it and it could be a straight quarter-final. We saw a 6-1 and a 4-2 in the 2021 European Championship qualifiers, and there’s certainly a lot of goals on the cards this time around, but with a Dutch win rather than a surprise.
