The European Cup Round of 16 continued today, in an earlier match between the Dutch team in Group C no. 1 against the third Czech Republic in Group D, the low-key Czech Republic beat the widely favored Dutch team before the game 2-0, advancing to the top 8 with its head held high, and also broke the first upset so far in the Knockout Stage of the European Cup. The reason why the Netherlands was beaten in this game without the ability to fight back was from a direct red card.
When the game proceeded to the 55th minute of the second half, Dutch centre-back De Ligt accidentally slipped in a confrontation with Czech striker Sigg, and seeing that Sigg was about to get a one-handed chance, De Ligt subconsciously stopped the ball with his hand in a hurry. The referee only showed De Ligt a yellow card at the first time, but after being reminded by the video assistant referee, the referee checked the VAR and showed De Ligt a direct red card, and the Netherlands had to play one less person in the next 35 minutes.
It was from this point in time that the Czech Republic, who played one more person, took control of the situation on the pitch and scored two goals in a row in the 68th and 80th minutes. Playing one less man and two goals behind, the Netherlands lost hope of an equaliser and lost the game helplessly.
Interestingly, this was the fourth red card the Netherlands had received in the history of the European Cup, and the opponents who made them eat these four red cards were all the Czech Republic and their predecessor, Czechoslovakia. At the 1976 European Championship, the Dutch team Nesskens and Van Hanehen both received red cards in the semi-final against Czechoslovakia, while the Netherlands also lost 1-3 after extra time, Czechoslovakia won the final and won the championship, and Paanika also invented the spoon penalty in the penalty shootout.
Twenty-eight years later, at Euro 2004, the Netherlands had turned against the Czech Republic in the group stage, in which the Netherlands once led 2-0, but the Czechs equalized in the second half, when Dutch centre-back Heytinga was sent off with a red card, while the Czech Republic took advantage of one more player in the 88th minute and was eliminated by Smichel.
Counting this game, the Netherlands has suffered three consecutive defeats against the Czech Republic, the two teams in the qualifiers of the last European Championship were divided into the same group, the Netherlands was double-killed by the Czech Republic, and finally embarrassingly missed the 2016 Euro 2016 main match that has just expanded, from the past record, the Czech Republic is simply the biggest nemesis of the Netherlands, and the Netherlands' loss in this game seems to be understandable.