FC Bayern defender Matthijs de Ligt and the Dutch national team qualified for the EURO 2024 quarter-finals on Tuesday evening after a 3-0 win over Romania in Munich. However, Konrad Laimer's Austria just missed out on a place in the last eight with a 2-1 defeat to Turkey.
Netherlands seal it in closing stages
Right from kick-off, the crowd of 65,012 at the Allianz Arena witnessed a fast-paced match between Romania and Netherlands, although de Ligt did not feature. Cody Gakpo put the Oranje ahead after 20 minutes, cutting in from the left and catching Romanian goalkeeper Florin Nita out with a powerful shot at the near post.
Ronald Koeman's side kept their foot on the pedal and continued to dominate proceedings after the break. Gakpo had a second goal ruled out by VAR, but the Dutch put the contest to bed in the closing stages. Liverpool forward Gakpo again muscled his way into the penalty area from the left byline and cut the ball back for Donyell Malen, who just had to tap it in from close range. The Dortmund man then finished off a counter with a solo run to make it 3-0 in stoppage time.
Austria knocked out
FCB midfielder Konrad Laimer and the Austrian national team were beaten 2-1 by Turkey in the round of 16.
Netherlands' opponents in the quarter-final in Berlin on Saturday night (21:00 CEST) will be Turkey, who are in the last eight of a European Championship for the first time since 2008 after a 2-1 victory against Austria on Tuesday night. Bayern midfielder Laimer started for the Austrian team and came off after 65 minutes.
Merih Demiral gave the Turks the lead from a corner after just 57 seconds in Leipzig. Austria pressed for an equaliser but couldn't find the right answer to the early blow, and instead Demiral extended Turkey's lead in the 59th minute, again from a corner. Minutes later, a corner also resulted in Austria pulling a goal back, the ball landing at the feet of Michael Gregoritsch, who bundled in from close range. Ralf Rangnick's men threw everything forward in the closing minutes but it finished 2-1, meaning Laimer and Co narrowly missed out on a first ever EURO quarter-final appearance.
De Ligt joins Bayern defensive colleague Dayot Upamecano in the quarter-finals:
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