Delighted Turkey followers rejoice victory over Austria throughout Europe

Ecstatic Turkey fans shot fireworks and celebrated in the streets across Europe and following their team’s triumphant 2-1 victory over Austria in the Euros this evening.

Explosions lit up the night sky in Berlin in the aftermath of Tuesday’s Round of 16 fixture in Leipzig, Saxony – as groups waving Turkey flags took to the streets to revel in their historic win.

Police clad in riot gear arrived on scene to break up some of the groups as they tried to stop the celebrations getting out of hand.

Spirits remained high at home, with fans in Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir sharing in their delight with flares and flags as they narrowly made it through to face Netherlands in the quarter-finals on Saturday.

It was a night to remember for Turkey fans, with former Juventus player Merih Demiral scoring inside the first minute – the fastest ever goal in a knockout match of the competition – and securing his brace after 59′.

Turkey set the pace of the game inside the first minute with Merih Demiral’s sharp attention capitalising on a poorly cleared corner kick.

Heartbreaking for Austrian keeper Patrick Pentz, Baumgartner’s attempted clearance rebounded back off teammate Stefan Posch to the goalkeeper, who scooped it off the line only for Demiral to pounce on the rebound and score. 

In what became arguably the most exciting match of the tournament so far, Turkey fans set off flares inside the stadium as their team kept up the press to bag a second goal in the 59th minute.

Austria’s corner-taker, Marcel Sabitzer, was pelted with beer cups and at one point went down on the ground clutching his head to indicate he had been hit.

Still, Austria did not make it an easy ride, pushing with counter after counter before Freiburg’s Michael Gregoritsch brought one back in the 66th.

Austria had failed to have a shot on target within the first half – reflecting Turkey’s drive more than Austria’s lack of determination – but looked to be getting closer to a second goal before the final whistle blew.

A last-minute save from Turkish keeper Mert Günok saved the game from going into extra time and progressed the team to the quarter-finals to face The Netherlands on Saturday – as England play Switzerland.

In Istanbul, supporters fired off waved flags to cheer their team’s success after the whistle blew.

Huge crowds turned out to celebrate at Kalamis Park in Kadikoy, staying out long after nightfall.

In Ankara, the capital, red and white smoke matched that of Berlin, with supporters jumping with jubilation at news of their team’s success. 

In Izmir, still reeling from a horror explosion on Sunday, fans watched the game from a giant screen in Gundogdu Square, Konak district and waved large flares.

In Berlin, home to a large population of Turks, fireworks were fired over the city as cars drove through the streets, passengers waving flags from the windows.

After a fairly uninspiring tournament so far, Turkey breathed new life into this year’s competition with a thrilling display in Leipzig on Tuesday night.

‘No one gave up,’ manager Vincenzo Montella said after the match. 

‘Everyone gave a bit extra in terms of their soul, and for a head coach, you know that there are matches such as these and you can only win matches such as these if there is a soul within the squad.

‘There’s that belief, that conviction. I could go on all night, but I saw all of those attributes, and that makes me very proud.’

There was a sense of vindication for Turkey after Austria routed the team with a 6-1 thrashing in a friendly in March.

‘That was a horrible stain on my career,’ Montella said. ‘That was the team that I was really waiting for, to try and get this monkey off my back. 

‘So I respect Austria, I respect their head coach, I respect their game plan, the tactics that they implemented on the pitch. But we head coaches, just like footballers, are competitors,’ the 50-year-old Italian said. 

‘And I had that real competitive instinct deep within me because I wanted to change this result. It was only a friendly, but there’s no such thing as a friendly at international level.’ 

The victory came despite Turkey missing suspended captain Hakan Calhanoglou and defender Samet Akaydin.

They will also be missing Orkun Kokcu and Ismail Yuksek against the Netherlands due to the accumulation of yellow cards.

Nineteen-year-old Arda Guler, a fan-favourite as a young Real Madrid prospect, showed he was more than up to the job of holding down midfield, however, becoming the third teenager to both score and assist in the same European Championship.

Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo were his forerunners, achieving the feat in 2004. 

By the final whistle, Austria had had 21 attempts compared with Turkey’s six, regularly testing Gunok.

The Austrian coach was convinced if they had equalised they would have managed to overcome Turkey in extra time.

 ‘I’m sure that if Baumi had scored to take the game to extra time, we would have gone on to win the match,’ Austria coach Ralf Rangnick said.

‘The only thing we could be accused of is that we didn’t score enough goals from the chances we had, and that we didn’t work well twice for set pieces.’

Following the Netherlands’ 3-0 win over Romania, the victors will face Turkey on Saturday.