BERLIN — Cody Gakpo and Arda Guler endured frustrating seasons but both have established themselves as their teams’ vital players as the Netherlands will face Turkey in a Euro 2024 quarter-final clash in Berlin on Saturday.
Netherlands won the competition for the first and only time in 1988, with Ronald Koeman, Ruud Gullit, Frank Rijkaard and Marco van Basten among a talented squad.
The current roster is less illustrious but Liverpool left winger Gakpo, 25, is successfully staking his claim to be their leading light, with three goals this summer.
“Gakpo is our star,” former Netherlands international Pierre van Hooijdonk said on Dutch channel NOS according to AFP.
Overshadowed by Mohamed Salah at Anfield, where he has played inconsistently, Gakpo has burst into life in Germany as a constant threat coming in off the left.
Half of the forward’s 12 goals for his country have come at major tournaments, with three at the World Cup two years ago.
With another he will match compatriots and former stars Ruud van Nistelrooy and Arjen Robben on seven.
“He is a great player who is solid on the ball… and super important for us,” said Koeman after the 3-0 last 16 win over Romania, in which Gakpo scored and also brilliantly teed up Donyell Malen.
“He is one of the players with extra qualities and fortunately he makes the difference at moments like this.”
In Gakpo’s way is Turkey goalkeeper Mert Gunok, whose sensational last-minute save to claw out Christoph Baumgartner’s header was compared to Gordon Banks denying Pele at the 1970 World Cup.
At the other end, Real Madrid attacker Arda Guler is Turkey’s main weapon.
After months of injury problems and struggling to earn a chance in the Spanish capital, Guler burst into life in the final weeks of the season.
With the Spanish title won, Carlo Ancelotti let Guler loose and he blossomed at the perfect time to take the creative controls for Turkey this summer.
The 19-year-old scored a stunning effort against Georgia in Turkey’s thrilling opening win and created both of his team’s goals against Austria in the 2-1 last 16 win with set pieces.
“He put in a great performance and he ran like he’s never done before in his career, and I’m proud of that too,” said Turkey coach Vincenzo Montella.
A routine 3-0 win for Netherlands over Romania at the Euro 2024 was overshadowed hours later by a tenacious Turkish victory over Austria to set up an enthralling quarter-final in Berlin on Saturday.
With the Dutch dominating possession against Romania and Turkey happy to let Austria have the ball and hit them on the counter, Berlin’s Olympiastadion is likely to see more of the same, with plenty of young talent on display.
Turkey’s Arda Guler has played with a maturity far beyond his 19 years, displaying calm and skill as he acts as an outlet for his side’s counters and he provided an assist for the second goal against Austria.
Dutch winger Xavi Simons had a similar effect for his side, creating the opener for Cody Gakpo against the Romanians from his position on the right wing.
Although the Dutch appear to be finally finding their groove, Turkish fans in Germany are in a frenzy at the thought of a repeat of Euro 2008, where they made the semi-finals.
Berlin boasts one of the largest Turkish diasporas in the world, and their 2-1 win over Austria in Leipzig was greeted by flag-waving fans and horn-tooting cars taking to the city’s streets until the early hours.
“We’ve got huge following. 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,” coach Vincenzo Montella said of his side’s progress so far according to Reuters.
With single yellow cards written off after the quarter-finals, Turkey has nine players who will have to tread carefully as another booking would rule them out of a semi-final should they win. The Dutch have four players in the same position.
Turkey will be without the suspended Orkun Kokcu and Ismael Yuksek, but they receive a major boost with the return of captain Hakan Calhanoglu who was banned from the Austria game.
Euro 2008 was also the last time the Dutch made the quarter-finals, and they have come through the ignominy of a 3-2 loss to the Austrians that left them third in their group.
“We learned our lessons from the Austria game. We had a lot of conversations last week. I think we did very well, especially in the pressing, especially in ball possession,” defender Denzel Dumfries said.
The winners on Saturday will meet England or Switzerland in the last four.
Netherlands defender Daley Blind, meanwhile, warned his teammates they must be on guard against a Turkey side with huge support on Saturday.
An estimated three million Turkish people live in Germany and their fans have flocked to their matches so far this summer, creating fierce and raucous atmospheres.
One-time winners in 1988, Netherlands face Turkey in Berlin aiming for a spot in the semifinals against England or Switzerland.
“It will be an away match I think, the Turks will be there en masse,” Girona centre-back Blind said according to AFP.
“They are passionate, it will be an emotional match. We have to be on guard, we will have to be well prepared.”
Turkey fans have celebrated long into the night after their victories over Georgia, the Czech Republic and most recently Austria in the last 16 on Tuesday.
“They will probably make a lot of noise – we should not be surprised by that,” continued Blind, 34.
“The trick is to put the right emotion and passion into it on the pitch, but also choose to use good positional play at times to silence them.”
Blind said the Dutch had been fortunate with the draw which pitted them against Romania in the last 16 and now against Turkey, compared to some other countries.
“We have been pretty lucky after the group stage, there’s no need to deny that,” the former Manchester United and Ajax defender added.
“Look at the opponents of other countries… but on the other hand, smaller countries make it hard for the bigger ones.”
Blind did not appear in the group phase for the Netherlands and made a brief substitute appearance for his 108th cap as they beat Romania 3-0 to reach the quarterfinals.
“My reserve role is taking some getting used to,” said Blind, who has played the fifth most matches for his country of all time.
“It’s also a challenge again, now I have to keep my teammates on their toes.
