We’re here. The quarter finals of the Euros.

After an exciting first round it’s safe to say the tournament has become tepid at times, partly due to the format, but now we are at the business end of the competition.

France, England, Portugal, Netherlands, Spain, Germany, Switzerland and Türkiye have made it this far and all will have dreams of being crowned European Champions.

Of those to have qualified for the quarters, Türkiye are perhaps the most surprising. Ranked 42^nd in the world, their 3-0 capitulation to Portugal might have put paid to their hopes of reaching the round of 16, only to grab a late winner against 10-man Czechia in the final round of the group.

In the round of 16, Türkiye beat everyone’s new favourite team Austria, defeating ex-Man Utd boss Ral Rangnick’s side 2-1, thanks to two set-piece goals from defender Merih Demiral.

Dutch Challenge

Next up for them are the Netherlands on Saturday night.

In the absence of Wales, Sportin Wales are supporting Netherlands as a result of a public vote, where they beat Scotland in the final.

Netherlands began their campaign with a come-from-behind 2-1 win against Poland, courtesy of a Cody Gakpo deflected strike and a late Wout Weghorst finish, seven minutes from time.

Then came a bore draw with France, before a 3-2 defeat to Austria in arguably the game of the tournament so far.

Despite the loss, Netherlands ended the group stages in third place and their four points were good enough to reach the round of 16.

Once there, they put in their most impressive display to date, another Gakpo goal, his third of the championships, and a late Donyell Malen brace in a 3-0 win against Romania.

Gakpo is now joint top scorer in the tournament, along with Germany’s Jamal Musiala, Georgia’s Georges Mikautadze and Slovakia’s Ivan Schranz.

Türkiye Soliditiy v Netherlands Fluidity

With the final two out of the tournament, Gakpo has a very realistic chance of winning the EURO 2024 golden boot, but more importantly Netherlands will need all his creativity to conquer Türkiye’s solid defence.

Against Austria, Türkiye operated in a low defensive block, giving Ralf Rangnick’s side very few opportunities in behind.

In that game, they operated with a back three with İsmail Yüksek sitting just in front and were still indebted to goalkeeper Mert Günok who produced a stellar save from Austrian forward Christoph Baumgartner right at the death.

Yüksek is suspended against the Dutch, along with fellow midfielder Orkun Kökçü after receiving a second yellow card in the tournament, however there is some positive team news with influential captain Hakan Çalhanoğlu returning.

Of further concern will be that Demiral, hero of the win against Austria, has been suspended by UEFA after appearing to make an ultra-nationalist salute during his side’s win against Austria.

This is a huge loss for Türkiye head coach Vincenzo Montella as the former Juventus centre half provides vital experience to a young side.

Starboys Collide

Two of European football’s hottest young prospects will go head-to-head on Saturday as Real Madrid teenager Arda Güler a key player for Türkiye up against Netherlands’ Paris Saint-Germain baller Xavi Simons.

The tournament has seen several youngsters shine. Musiala, Jude Bellingham, Pedri, Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams have all been crucial for their sides thus far while other, more established players, have faltered slightly.

Güler began the tournament with a wonder strike in the win against Georgia and was crucial against Austria, providing assists for both goals despite being pelted by plastic cups in the corner.

Simons has had a slightly quieter tournament, but still has three assists to his name, including two in the round of 16, plus he was very unfortunate to have a goal disallowed for offside against France.

The result could well be decided by which playmaker gets on the ball in attacking areas and to greatest effect.

Dutch Steel

With the end-to-end game against Austria apart, Netherlands’ defence has been miserly of late.

They have now managed eight clean sheets in their last 11 games.

Partly, that is down to Dutch captain and former Premier league player of the year Virgil van Dijk. However, the role of Manchester City’s Nathan Ake cannot be overstated.

Starting in the left back position, he often slots into the left side of a back three in possession as right back Denzel Dumfries bombs forward.

Ake’s speed allows him to cover any defensive lapses, whilst his positioning has improved ten-fold since being part of Pep Guardiola’s Man City team.

With the unsung talents of AC Milan’s Tijjani Reijnders and PSV’s Jerdy Schouten providing a screen in front of the defence, Netherlands appear to have found a formula for success, even in the absence of injured trio Frenkie de Jong, Teun Koopmeiners and Marten de Roon.

Here’s hoping that the Oranje wave continues to a possible matchup against England in the semi-finals!

Possible lineups

Netherlands: (4-2-3-1) Verbruggen; Dumfries, De Vrij, Van Dijk, Ake; Schouten, Reijnders; Malen, Simons, Gakpo; Depay.

Türkiye: (4-2-3-1) Günok, Müldür, Bardakcı, Kadıoğlu, Ayhan; Ozcan, Yokuşlu; Yildiz, Çalhanoğlu, Güler; Yilmaz.