European Nations 2024: England to tame the Swiss “horse”… and the Netherlands to avoid a Turkish surprise
Agencies – Sudan Events
England will play “dark horse” Switzerland on Saturday in the quarter-finals in Dusseldorf.
Despite being nominated for the title, England was not convincing in the group stage and Jude Bellingham saved them at the last minute against Slovakia, scoring the equalizer, before Harry Kane added the winning goal at the beginning of extra time, and its coach, Gareth Southgate, is under constant criticism for not taking advantage of the constellation of stars in his ranks. The fans threw beer cans at him when he was trying to celebrate with them after qualifying for the final 16 against Slovenia.
The coach is sticking to his starting lineup in his past four matches, and Southgate admitted after the Slovakia match that Bellingham and Kane were tired 15 minutes before the end, but they held on to achieve the win On the other hand, Switzerland became the dark horse in the tournament, after eliminating defending champion Italy 2-0 in the 16th final, and before that, a 1-1 draw with host Germany after they were leading until stoppage time. It is looking for the semi-finals for the first time in its history, and its coach Murat Yakin said after the victory over Italy: We sent an important message tonight. We didn’t just defend; Rather, we showed our offensive capabilities.
Khakio leads the Netherlands and Guler is the hope of Türkiye
The Netherlands is looking to avoid a Turkish surprise in Berlin today when it is led by striker Cody Hakpo in his due against Turkey, which is counting on the young Arda Guler. The Netherlands compensated for its loss to Austria in the groups with a wide victory and the elimination of Romania. On the other hand, Guler, the Spanish Real Madrid striker, is the winning card in the squad of the Italian coach Vincenzo Montella. After an absence for several months due to injury, the 19-year-old shone and scored a wonderful goal against Georgia (3-1) in the group stage, which saw Turkey lose to Portugal 0-3, then secured the qualification ticket with a late victory over the Czech Republic 2-1. “He is performing at a great level and running like he has never done in his entire career.” Montella said.
This is the fourth time that Türkiye has reached the quarter-finals of a major tournament. Its star midfielder, Hakan Calhanoglu, and defender Samit Akaydin return to its ranks from suspension, but it is missing midfielders Orkun Kokcu and Ismail Yuksek. Turkey is expected to enjoy great support from its wide community, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will attend the match.
