Euro 2024: Netherlands Will Have To ‘Fight For It’ Against Turkey, Says Head Coach Ronald Koeman
Berlin: Netherlands have managed to carve their way through to the quarter-finals of the 2024 European Championship where they will face Turkey at the Olympiastadion.
The Dutch finished third behind Austria and France in their group and qualified as one of the four best placed third teams in the tournament. They went on to face Roumania in the Round of 16, a game which finished 3-0 and a confidence building victory.
Ahead of their match against Turkey, head coach Ronald Koeman talks about every game at this stage of the tournament being difficult and has stated that the team will have to ‘fight for it.’
“The last match was at a really good level football-wise, if we keep that level then it can be a really good tournament for us. Every match is difficult, all the big teams have struggled in different matches to win them. England scored in the last seconds, Portugal won on penalties. You have to fight for it,” said Koeman in the pre-match press confrence.
The Netherlands have progressed from five of their last seven major tournament quarter-finals, with the most recent being a penalty shootout loss to Argentina at the 2022 World Cup.
Koeman also went on to suggest that the Turkish fans are great and it will be imperative to make them quiet as the game progresses.
“I’ve got some experience against Turkish teams, the atmosphere is always great. We just need to keep the ball and they will become quiet. You need to be cool, business-like and play your game,” added the former Barca head coach.