TRIBUNNEWS.COM – Another surprise occurred in the drawing results for the last 16 of Euro 2024, the Netherlands received an opponent who was not a strong team.
The Netherlands, who qualified for the last 16 via the best three standings, actually encountered opponents who were not that difficult.
The Netherlands lost to Austria on the final matchday of Group D and had to finish in third place.
The Netherlands’ previous opponent is still uncertain, either England, Spain or Belgium, which was previously predicted to finish at the top of Group E.
However, it turned out that several surprises occurred in the matches in Groups E and F, regarding the results of Belgium and Portugal.
From group E, all teams collected the same points, 4, after drawing in the last match.
Romania in top position, then Belgium as runner up, Slovakia, and bottom team Ukraine who had to be eliminated.
Belgium failed to win against Ukraine, so top spot remains Romania’s.
In the other group, Portugal suffered a surprise 2-0 defeat to Georgia. The result means Georgia also qualified through the best three group stages with four points.
As a result, the two teams that were ranked third in the group stage, namely Hungary (Group A) and Croatia (Group B), were eliminated.
Meanwhile, the 4 teams that qualified with the best third ranking status were Slovenia (Group C), Netherlands (Group D), Slovakia (Group E) and Georgia (Group F).
Also read: Euro 2024 Results Recap: Portugal Rendered Helpless, Belgium Anticlimactic
If Georgia does not win against Portugal, its group allocation for the best third-placed team is ACDE.
Later, England as group C winners will meet the Netherlands, Spain vs Slovakia, Portugal vs Hungary, and Romania vs Slovenia.
However, this scheme did not materialize due to the surprise made by Georgia. This is what made the Netherlands quite profitable.
