In the 1/8 finals of the European Cup, the Netherlands defeated Romania 3-0. Koeman's orange team played convincing football: attacking, crushing all over the field, fighting spirit. The Netherlands, who finished third in the group, showed their sharp fangs when they entered the knockout round!
Not only did the Netherlands play well, but their acting skills were also top-notch.
In the group stage, the Netherlands won 1 win, 1 draw, 1 loss and 4 points, and qualified as the third place in the group, meeting the weakest group No. 1 Romania. It turns out that the Netherlands just "played dead". In the match against Romania, if the Netherlands is a little more able to take advantage of the opportunity, 6-0 will not be a problem. In terms of acting skills and control points, the Netherlands can be called a leader in this European Cup.
The 3-0 victory over Romania, the two performances of the Dutch star, have also become a hot topic among fans.
It was the 81st minute of the game, Depay's corner cross was cleared, and Romania played a counter-attack. Alibek hooked the ball and Dumfries leaned over to head it away. Alibek retracted his feet just in time, and Dumfries fell to the ground in pain!
The referee blew the whistle to stop the game and quickly ran to the scene of the incident. The fans at the scene stopped doing it and let out violent boos! Romanian captain Stanciu was emotional, expressing his dissatisfaction and protest against the decision. The referee pulled out a yellow card and warned Stanciu.
What's going on? Let's take a look at the slow-motion replay:
Alibek hooked the ball with his foot outstretched, his foot was not raised high, there was no suspicion of a deliberate foul, and he closed his foot in time. Alibek's toes were at least 50 centimeters from Dumfries' head, but Dumfries pretended to have been kicked, spun 360 degrees in the air and fell to the ground, lying on the ground and unable to get up.
Dumfries
Obviously, this is Dumfries' performance. The Romanian players were very unhappy - the team was down 0-1, and the excellent counter-attacking opportunity was "played" by Dumfries. Captain Stanqiu protested, which is the power given to the captain by UEFA, but the former Wuhan Three Towns core was also yellow carded. Romania can only suffer: it doesn't involve a red card and VAR won't intervene.
On social platforms, many fans ridiculed that Dumfries's acting skills were first-class and he perfectly deceived the referee. This is not the first time Dumfries has acted, in the 55th minute, Inter wings also made a fake fall in the penalty area:
Gakpo's cross hit the back post and Dumfries collapsed in the box under the defence of Haji Jr. This time, though, Dumfries' performance was not on fire, and the referee didn't blow a penalty.
Of course, Dumfries was at the top of his game – playing like a right winger at right-back, completely overpowering Romania's left. With three tackles, nine successful aerial duels, four successful aerial duels, a number of threatening attacks and two key passes, he became the Netherlands' most reliable wing mover. Zhan Jun praised Dumfries: No. 1 right-back in Serie A!