Turkey defender replicates feat not achieved in decades

After netting the quickest goal in Euro knockouts history Tuesday, Turkey defender Merih Demiral scored again at the 59-minute mark when Arda Guler's set piece positioned him to head one home. Incidentally, the second strike was nearly a carbon copy of the first, which also came off a Guler corner kick.

By scoring both of Turkey's goals in the Round of 16 win over Austria , Demiral became the first defender to convert multiple strikes in the knockout stages of a major tournament (Euros and World Cup) since  France's Lilian Thuram at the 1998 World Cup.

Demiral also became the first Turk to score a brace in the knockout stages of the Euros. The dual strikes were all the more meaningful since they helped Turkey clinch a win outside the group stages (any major tournament) for the first time since 2008, setting up a quarterfinal clash against the Netherlands.

While the likes of Demiral, Guler and Ferdi Kadioglu were instrumental in Turkey's 2-1 win, the unsung hero of the evening was goalkeeper Mert Gunok, who miraculously denied Austrian star Christoph Baumgartner a header in the dying seconds of the game. The denial was so incredible that BBC analysts compared it to Gordon Banks' legendary "save of the century" against Pele at the 1966 World Cup.

It was ultimately a three-man race for Man of the Match honors between Demiral, Gueler and Gunok. Demiral, who received the honor for his two goals, felt it should have gone to his veteran goalie.

"Mert did a great job, we had a big discussion after the final whistle and I couldn't believe my eyes — maybe one of the best saves I saw with my own eyes," Demiral said of Gunok . "He deserves it, Mert is the oldest player on the team and has always guided us and shown us the path forward, so I am very happy he made that save."

Turkey's 2-1 win over Austria was all the more impressive since the latter had a 61-39 possession advantage, attempted 15 more shots and received six more corner kicks. Yet, the Turks fought and clawed and found a way to prevail in undoubtedly the best game of Euro 2024 thus far.