Turkey is not a traditional international soccer power. Far from it. But after overcoming Austria in Euro 2024’s Round of 16 on Tuesday, it’s becoming apparent that this dark horse feels right at home in the tournament.
And that never happens without some all-time heroics on the part of goalkeeper Mert Günok.
With Austria relentlessly pressing for a tying goal in stoppage time, midfielder Christoph Baumgartner found himself wide open in front of the net for a perfect header. He would’ve scored under almost any other circumstance, and this matchup would have seen extra time. We’re probably talking about a goal 99.9 percent of the time.
Instead, Günok’s lightning-quick reflexes let him just barely get his fingertips on the ball to make one of the greatest soccer saves we’ve ever seen:
WHAT A SAVE!!!!!!!!!
Mert Günok comes up HUGE!!!!! pic.twitter.com/zNxmhZzNBn
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) July 2, 2024
Here’s another close-up angle of Günok’s all-time clutch save:
This 95th minute save by Mert Günok was UNREAL 😱🔥
Türkiye fans won't forget this one 🇹🇷 pic.twitter.com/nLzM5Pa8Yy
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) July 2, 2024
HOW on Earth did he do that? It’s the clear save of the tournament, and there probably won’t be another worthy candidate, let alone one that will go down forever into soccer lore.
I’m inclined to believe that making the save is partly luck, but it takes a tremendous amount of skill to guess right and deny someone right at the doorstep off a perfect pass.
Kudos to Günok. He probably just singlehandedly (no pun intended) kept Turkey’s Cinderella run at Euro 2024 alive.
Soccer fans were amazed by Günok’s all-time clutch save
One of the most clutch saves I have ever seen https://t.co/xlXKFB8NCS
— Andrew Joseph (@AndyJ0seph) July 2, 2024
Tremendous concentration. 9.5/10 times this is a goal. Wow. https://t.co/t9xQkquTUg
— simply, فليتشر (Fletcher) (@SaintFDW) July 2, 2024
Given the circumstances and timing, that’s one of the best saves I’ve ever seen lol https://t.co/VukQ5BJ5RE
— Borderline Depressed FCD Fan (@sadfcdfans) July 2, 2024
Throwing my PlayStation remote out the window if I was a victim of this https://t.co/hTRuL92Hyg
— Sean Mack (@seanmackradio) July 2, 2024
One of the best saves I’ve ever seen given the circumstances https://t.co/YxaNQFcIZK
— Jared Ramsey (@jared_ramsey22) July 2, 2024
Considering the stakes this is one of the best saves I've ever seen at this level.
Heroic goalkeeping. https://t.co/MAnMTC2PI5
— Mookie Alexander (@mookiealexander) July 2, 2024
Save of the tournament by far https://t.co/daPJYfMUV2
— William Yates (@wdyates91) July 2, 2024
Might be the save of the tourney. Insane https://t.co/WxWvKisbC8
— Ice Cold (@TheMSeries1) July 2, 2024
Featured image courtesy of Fox Sports
