The Dutch national team has reached the quarterfinals of the European Championship thanks to a 3-0 victory over Romania. Cody Gakpo and Donyell Malen were the most important players on the side of Oranje. Gakpo was good for a goal and an assist, and Malen scored two goals as a substitute.
The team of national coach Ronald Koeman will face the winner of the duel between Austria and Turkey in the next round. It is the first time since 2008 that the Netherlands is in the last eight at the European Championship.
✅ Last 16
🔜 Quarterfinals pic.twitter.com/yCDkv5BqWx— ESPN NL (@ESPNnl) July 2, 2024
Mountain wine in the base
The most surprising name in Koeman’s starting line-up was Ajax captain Steven Bergwijn. The attacker had not played any minutes at this European Championship before the round of 16, but was now allowed to start as a right winger.
Xavi Simons and Denzel Dumfries could also count on a starting place. They replaced Joey Veerman and Lutsharel Geertruida, who still had a starting place in the match against Austria.
Soccrates Images
Weather Gakpo
The man of this EC for Oranje is without a doubt Cody Gakpo and against Romania the Liverpool attacker was also of great value early on. In the twentieth minute the left winger, as he has done many times before this tournament, cut inside. This time Gakpo struck hard and surprised Florin Niță in the near corner: 1-0.
Number three again for him at this tournament. With that he is joint top scorer of the EC, together with Georges Mikautadze, Jamal Musiala and Ivan Schranz.
Soccrates Images
Dominant first half
The Dutch team remained much more dominant than the Romanians during the first half. Koeman’s team mainly sought happiness via the right flank where Dumfries kept steaming. It resulted in a number of good chances for Tijjani Reijnders and Xavi Simons, among others, but a second goal did not come.
Bergwijn stays behind in dressing room: Malen replacement
Bergwijn, who was surprisingly allowed to start, did not return from the dressing room. The attacker played a fine first half, but did not seem completely fresh after a hard tackle that was made on him. Malen came in for him.
Gakpo’s second place is crossed out
After the break, the Netherlands were again a lot stronger than Romania. Within fifteen minutes, there were a number of chances. Reijnders had a few shots, Memphis saw an effort cleared off the line, Van Dijk headed onto the post and Gakpo shot a ball into the keeper’s hands.
In the 64th minute, Gakpo thought he had scored his second of the match. He poked a ball in from close range, but was offside. No 2-0 and no fourth of this tournament for the attacker.
Pro Shots
Orange secures place in last eight
With just over twenty minutes left on the clock, Koeman decided to take Jerdy Schouten and Nathan Aké off the pitch. Joey Veerman and Micky van de Ven replaced them in the team. Shortly after coming on, Veerman immediately had a good chance to make it 2-0, but unfortunately for the midfielder and the Dutch team, he shot the ball just past the far post.
The Netherlands failed to make the liberating 2-0, but in the 83rd minute they finally scored. Again thanks to good work by Gakpo. The left winger made a nice move on the back line and laid the ball off to Malen, who could easily tap it in. With that he sealed the match.
Wout Weghorst also got a few minutes from the national coach in the final phase, but the striker did not score. Malen did score one more. In the last minute of the match he shot his second into the net, with which he determined the final score at 3-0.
