New Delhi: The final game of the pre-quarters stage is being played between Turkey and Austria in Leipzig currently and the game was off to a brilliant start for the Turks. They won a corner within the first minute of the game and made sure to make it count.
The corner was played into the box by Arda Guler and wasn’t dealt with properly by the Austrian defence as Christoph Baumgartner’s clearance ricocheted off Stefan Posch and the ball was on its way in before Patrik Pentz half-heartedly palmed the ball away. It fell right at Merih Demiral’s feet and the Turkish defender blasted the ball into the roof of the net to give Turkey a very early lead.
The Al-Ahli defender scored just 58 seconds into the match, therefore creating history in the UEFA European Championships. His goal is now the fastest scored in a UEFA European Championship knockout round game, breaking Robert Lewandowski’s record from UEFA Euro 2016 when he scored 1 minute and 40 seconds into the quarterfinal game against Portugal.
Turkey’s Merih Demiral got on the scoresheet just 58 seconds into the match (Photo by Adam Davy/PA Images via Getty Images)
In addition to seeing the fastest goal scored in a knockout match, we have also seen the fastest goal in UEFA Euro history, the fastest own-goal in UEFA Euro history and the second-fastest goal scored in the second half of a UEFA Euro match, all in this year’s edition of the UEFA European championships.
With Demiral’s strike at the 58-second mark, Turkey also created a unique piece of history as they now hold the record for the fastest goals scored in knockout rounds of both the UEFA European Championships and the FIFA World Cup. Demiral joins Hakan Sukur as the record holder, who scored just 11 seconds into the third-place playoff game back in the 2002 World Cup, against South Korea.
Mere seconds into the game against Austria, Turkey had a corner to their name and some shabby defending from Austria allowed Merih Demiral to find the net early on to give his side the lead. Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
