A moment of brilliance from Mert Gunok sparked celebrations among Turkish fans and drew high praise from Austrian rival Michael Gregoritsch, who called it one of the best saves he had ever witnessed.
Goalkeeper Gunok made a crucial save deep into injury time on Tuesday during the European Championship, securing Turkey’s spot in the quarterfinals.
He instinctively leaped into a full-stretch dive to his right, deflecting a close-range header from Austria’s Christoph Baumgartner four minutes into stoppage time. This preserved Turkey’s 2-1 victory and prevented the round-of-16 match from going into extra time.
“I believe it’s one of the greatest saves I’ve seen on the field,” Gregoritsch commented. “The Turkish goalkeeper deserves credit because I think it was incredibly challenging to stop. Truly remarkable.”
When asked if the save reminded him of Gordon Banks’ iconic stop against Pelé in the 1970 World Cup, Austria coach Ralf Rangnick agreed, acknowledging its significance.
Rangnick later lamented the save, expressing confidence that if the ball had gone in, Austria would have gone on to win the match.
“That was our final opportunity with Gordon Banks in goal,” the German coach stated. Gunok’s impressive performance included four key saves during the game, including a crucial one-on-one situation against Marko Arnautovic.
His efforts ensured that Merih Demiral’s two goals were sufficient to advance Turkey to a quarterfinal clash against the Netherlands at Berlin’s Olympiastadion on Saturday.
