Netherlands coach Ronald Koeman is not worried about the expected Turkish dominance in the stands of Berlin’s Olympic Stadium in the European Championship quarter-finals. “We know what to expect. I think it will be nice to play in such an atmosphere,” said the 61-year-old at a press conference before the match on Saturday (9 p.m./RTL and MagentaTV) against Turkey: “We just have to keep the ball, then they will calm down.”
Not only because of the ban on defender Merih Demiral for his highly controversial wolf salute gesture, Koeman expects an “enthusiastic opponent”; the Turks have “a big heart, just like the Romanians.” The Oranje beat Romania 3-0 in the round of 16 and showed their best performance of the tournament.
Given the large Turkish community in Berlin, the Turkish team is expecting what feels like a home game at the Olympic Stadium. Around 200,000 people with Turkish roots live in the German capital.