Dutch defender Daley Blind has warned his team-mates that Saturday’s Euro 2024 showdown with Turkey will feel like “an away match”.
The Netherlands are taking on Vincenzo Montella’s men in the quarter-finals, with the winners due to face England or Switzerland.
Turkey have lived up to their billing of dark horses to get this far and they have been backed by huge support. Around three million people of Turkish descent live in Germany, and it has led to their supporters dominating whatever stadium the team play in.
“It will be an away match, I think,” said Blind. “The Turks will be there en masse — and they are passionate. It will be an emotional match. We have to be on our guard, be well prepared.”
The Netherlands struggled in the group stage and made it to the knockouts by being one of the four best third-placed teams.
That, however, has ended up with them being on the opposite side of the draw to Germany, France, Portugal and Spain, while they also cruised through the last 16 with a 3-0 win over Romania.
“We’ve been pretty lucky after the group stage,” added Blind. “We don’t have to deny that.”
Turkey will be without midfielders Orkun Kokcu and Ismail Yuksek through suspension, after picking up their second yellow cards of the tournament in the win over Austria in the last 16.
Defender Merih Demiral will miss out, too, as he has been handed a two-game ban by UEFA following his celebration in the victory against Austria.
Demiral mimicked the shape of a wolf’s head with his fingers after his second goal in the 2-1 win, with the gesture linked to the Grey Wolves, an ultra-nationalist youth branch of Turkey’s Nationalist Movement Party.
The absence of Demiral is a big blow for Turkey, but fellow defender Ferdi Kadioglu believes they can cause the Netherlands problems.
“Certainly, if you see how much energy we put in, how we fought, how we defended,” he said. “And then we have our twelfth man. There are many Turks living in Germany.”
