In the early morning of September 8, Beijing time, the European Cup qualifiers rekindled, and the Netherlands sat home to face Greece. After the opening game, the Netherlands took advantage of the home stadium to launch a wild bombardment, and the Greek team played quite passively. In the 16th minute, taking advantage of a corner kick, De Jong scored. In the 31st and 39th minutes, Dumfries assisted Gakpo and Westhorst to score. In the end, the Netherlands took the home ground and beat former European champions Greece 3-0.
【Competition Background】
1. The two teams are drawn in Group B, along with France, Ireland and Gibraltar. Before this match, Greece was second in the group with 2 wins and 1 loss, while the Netherlands were only fourth with 1 win and 1 loss.
2. The only defeats for both teams were away to France, the Netherlands lost 4-0 and Greece lost 0-1. There are 10 groups in this European Championship qualifier, with the top two from each group advancing directly (direct qualification from the host Germany), with the remaining places selected through the play-offs.
3. In the latest world ranking, the Netherlands ranked 7th, and Greece only ranked 50th.
【Competition Focus】
1. De Jong's wonderful stoppage, getting rid of the ball, and driving straight in, Theopis had to pay the price of a yellow card and put De Jong down.
2. Zimikas's cross was cleared by Ake's header, and Lotta's follow-up shot was too outrageous, and the ball went straight out of the line.
3. De Jong finally scored the first goal of the national team in the 38th game for the Dutch national team.
4. The camera was given to the stands, and the Dutch famous Seedorf was also watching the game on the spot, talking and laughing, and in a good mood.
【Wonderful Moment】
In the 6th minute, the Netherlands fought aggressively up front, and Westhorst's shot hit the defender and popped off the line.
In the 16th minute, the Netherlands won a corner kick opportunity with Dumfries heading in and De Jong's shot hit the defender to complete the goal.
In the 26th minute, Simmons made a series of brilliant passes and dribbles after receiving the ball in midfield, and his final shot was extremely threatening.
In the 31st minute, the Netherlands played a continuous combination when Dumfries passed the ball to the back post, and Gakpo stopped the ball and shot in one fell swoop when he was unguarded.
In the 36th minute, Gakpo reciprocated the favor and a long-range shot from outside the Dumfries penalty area hit the upright.
In the 39th minute, Gakpo attacked and the Greek defense was full of holes, Dumfries sent a wonderful pass and Westhorst scored with a header.
In the 63rd minute, a corner kick from the Netherlands was cleared and Simmons' powerful shot went too high.
In the 69th minute, the Netherlands won a well-placed free-kick, Blind missed a shot, and Simmons' shot was narrowly missed.
【Statistics】
【Player Rating】
【Lineup】
Netherlands starters: 1 Fleiken, 2 Heitler Ida, 4 Van Dijk, 5 Akre (46'6 De Vry), 22 Dumfries (84'3 De Ligt), 15 De Jong (64'10 Noah Lang), 21 De Jong (76'16 Wilman), 17 Blind, 7 Simmons, 8 Gakpo (64'14 Reindes), 9 Westhorst.
Dutch substitutes did not play: 13 Verbrugen, 23 Nopert, 11 Boguis, 12 Hartmann, 18 Mullen, 19 Vivre, 20 Koopmenas.
Greek starters: 1 Vlahodimos, 21 Zimikas, 17 Hatztiakos, 4 Reitsos, 15 Lota (69'22 Giannulis), 6 Courtelis (69'3 Cullerakis), 23 Siopis, 11 Barkasetas (76'5 Bukharajis), 20 Mantalos, 7 Masoleas, 9 Pavlidis (72'19 Jakumajis).
Greek substitutes not played: 12 Pascalakis, 13 Atanasiadis, 2 Papaniclau, 8 Ionedith, 10 Pekas, 14 Fontas, 16 Hazyovannis, 18 Rimnios.