In the early morning of July 3, Beijing time, the 1/8 finals of the European Cup, the Netherlands VS Romania. Gakpo scored 1 goal, Malen scored twice, 3-0, the Netherlands won a big victory, and after 16 years, they broke into the top 8 of the European Championship again! Both in terms of the pitch and the result, the Netherlands played at a championship level. "Play dead" in the group stage and make efforts in the knockout round, the Netherlands is undoubtedly the "number one pretender" in this European Cup!
The Netherlands in the group stage was extremely disappointing. 2-1 win against Poland, extremely difficult to win; then drew 0-0 with France, the two giants "acted" and played tacit balls; The group ended with a 2-3 defeat to Austria, which was an upset.
After entering the knockout round, the Netherlands, ranked 7th in the world, bared their fangs - looking back, the Netherlands in the group stage was "playing dead"!
In the battle with Romania, the Netherlands played aggressively, passing smoothly, Dumfries on the right and Ake on the left, achieving both wings; Schouteng and Reinders carried out a large-scale dispatch like a kite, constantly pulling the Romanian defense.
3 goals, 23 shots on target, 65% possession, 13 corners, 11 successful dribbles out of 16, wings together, combination of the side and center, smooth passing, sharp breakthroughs, high pressing, unity of thought, high morale - is this still the dull and ugly Netherlands in the group stage?
At halftime, BBC sports reporter Gary Rose, who was reporting on the scene, lamented that the Netherlands had changed too much:
Compared to the group stage, the Netherlands were so different, and it wasn't just Gakpo's goal early in the game. The Netherlands in the group stage played struggling and sluggish, and in this game with Romania, their speed, tempo, and impact were very fast, constantly creating a threat to Romania.
This is the Netherlands that fans are familiar with, with a strong desire to attack, constantly putting pressure on the opponent, and quite a style of attacking and defending. After 16 years, the Netherlands once again broke into the top 8 of the European Cup! The last time they appeared in the quarter-finals of the European Championship was in 2008 when Van Basten coached the orange team.
Premier League legend and former England international Alan Shearer also spoke highly of the Netherlands: "This is the best performance of the Netherlands so far in the European Championships. Especially in the midfield, showing absolute dominance. If they are more capable of taking their chances, they should win 6-0 or 7-0. ”
This 3-0 is the real strength of the Netherlands. Resuming the group stage, the Netherlands played a big game of chess:
With four points in the first two games, the Netherlands lost 2-3 to Austria after qualifying early. In the defeat seven days ago, the Netherlands was clearly a "strategic loss", finishing third in the group, and settled in the bottom half, avoiding Germany, Spain, and Portugal, which was the best choice. The third place in the group reached the quarterfinals of the European Championship, and the Netherlands is the only "conspicuous bag" in this European Cup. With such a performance from the Netherlands, England in the lower half may not be able to stop it, and it is not a dream for the orange to go straight to the final!