He Netherlands They are in the quarter-finals this summer European Championship After winning Romania 3-0 in Munich.
Romania started the match on the right foot, but Ronald Koeman’s team gained ground and deservedly took the lead after 20 minutes thanks to Cody SteelThe third goal of Euro 2024. The Dutch dominated the rest of the first half, especially on the right flank, but Edward Iordanescu’s side, as they have done throughout the tournament, maintained the threat on the counterattack.
Gakpo then assisted a second goal for the Netherlands in the dying moments, expertly working the ball along the goal line and passing it towards goal. Donyell Malenbefore Malen added a third (with a shoe in his hand) in stoppage time to seal a stunning victory.
Jacob Whitehead, James McNicholas, Liam Tharme and Seb Stafford-Bloor analyse the key points from the match.
Was that… a pair of shoes in the field?
It was one of the most curious images of this Eurocup.
As Donyell Malen made his way towards the penalty area, with defenders retreating furiously in front of him, Romania’s goalkeeper… Florin Nita He should have been prepared to try and keep the score at 2-0.
Instead, Nita focused more on kicking a shoe that was on her right. She managed to do so, but only before Malen shot, and the ball went into the back of the net.
It was not the most important moment of the match, but it was a strange one. Where had the coach and his teammate, who was lying a few metres ahead, come from? A child fan had invaded the pitch a few moments earlier, but the shoes lying on the grass were too big to be his. Presumably they had been thrown in from the crowd, which only adds to the mystery.
Why did they do it? Answers are needed.
Andrew Fifield
Gakpo’s goal was a beautiful example of total football
Ronald Koeman has been questioned from all angles in this tournament. He is too conservative. Guilty of favouritism. He avoids press conferences. One of the biggest criticisms has been about his style: pompous, uninspired and lacking energy.
In a country with the legacy of Johan Cruyff, it is a pretty harsh criticism for the national team. After the Austria After the defeat, Koeman was asked if he thought Cruyff’s eyes would have hurt watching this version of the Oranje.
“It’s a difficult question,” said Koeman, with uncharacteristic reserve. “I know he was very fond of attacking football, but I was part of his team for a long time and we had worse games than the one we had against Austria. Of course, we are a proud nation; we like to win, we like to play good football, but it hasn’t always happened.”
Fortunately for Koeman, this happened thanks to Gakpo’s goal in the 20th minute, Holland’s best attacking move so far.
The Dutch use of Cruyff’s principles
| Principle | Made? |
|---|---|
|
Compact the playing field |
No |
|
Back pressure |
Yeah |
|
Deep before wide |
Yeah |
|
Create an extra man |
Yeah |
|
The third man runs |
No |
|
Create one on one |
Yeah |
|
Positional interaction |
No |
|
Front bumper |
Yeah |
One of Cruyff’s key footballing principles was positional rotation, but it is a principle that Holland have yet to display in this tournament.
Even with Denzel Dumfries Back from a minor injury and pushing up, he allowed the right winger to float inside. On this occasion, that was Steven Bergwijn (more on him later), who then effectively became a double number 10 with Xavi Simons.
(James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images)
Dumfries had been exploiting Romania’s lack of width all game, and here they overcompensated, with a left-back Vasile Mogos He got close to him and left the centre-backs with too much space to cover. They couldn’t mark Simons or Bergwijn (plus the space behind) and a perfectly measured pass from Simons found Cody Gakpo in acres of space. 1-0 to Holland with a shot off the near post, and Koeman regained some Cruyffian credibility.
Jacob Whitehead
Are the Dutch coming into this tournament at the ideal time?
Watching the Oranje in action is one of the most captivating spectacles in international football. There were signs in this game that Koeman’s team might be finding their rhythm.
The Netherlands dominated possession against Romania and as they grew in confidence they produced a number of eye-catching plays and tricks. So far, Spain The Netherlands have been the most aesthetically pleasing team in the competition. Given Koeman’s individual talent and style, Holland may be the only team capable of rivalling them in terms of entertainment.
(Sebastian Widmann – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)
If there is one thing missing from this team, it is certainly an effective centre-forward. For a nation with a rich history of brilliant goalscorers, that is unusual. Gakpo may be the competition’s top scorer, but if they had had a ruthless centre-forward, Holland would surely have had the game wrapped up much sooner.
James McNicholas
Romania’s defense was heroic, but it had to be.
There are two ways to judge Romania’s defensive performance. At times, it was dramatic and impressive. Radu Dragusin made an exceptional clearance under his own crossbar in the first half. Andrei Ratius In the second half, he made another spectacular tackle to prevent a certain goal from Xavi Simons. Two highlights among many other blocks and tackles.
So excellent, but also damning in its way, because it was heroic by necessity, depicting how little protection was afforded to that back four and how exposed it often was to the Netherlands’s fast, penetrating ball movement.
(Chris Ricco – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)
Romania did not press high deliberately, but neither did they exert any real pressure in midfield. Tijjani Reijnders He was particularly capable of receiving the ball in open spaces, turning, carrying it and finding revealing gaps with his passes.
The fact that the score remained 1-0 for so long was down to some of those Romanian defenders. The fact that Dutch goals seemed inevitable for so long suggested a game plan that didn’t really work.
Seb Stafford-Bloor
Bergwijn unlocks the Dutch attack… for 45 minutes
Under mounting pressure in his home country, Ronald Koeman made three changes to his side for the round of 16 tie against Romania.
One of his most effective changes was giving Steven Bergwijn his first start of the tournament. Although Gakpo scored the opening goal from the left, much of Holland’s most impressive play came from the right, where Bergwijn was based.
With Denzel Dumfries making runs out wide, Bergwijn was able to move into more central positions. He has played as a centre-forward and second striker for Ajax this season, and his ability to pop into the gaps has helped unlock what has so far been a somewhat rigid Dutch attack.
Bergwijn has good control and awareness of the game, making him effective in tight spaces. This allowed him to prove his worth for both Dumfries and Memphis Depay.
Unfortunately for Koeman, Bergwijn’s impressive performance was cut short. After picking up an injury, he was replaced by Donyell Malen at half-time. Koeman’s decision to put Malen on the field Jeremie Frimpong He indicated that he wanted to continue playing with a right-sided attacker who plays in central areas rather than driving towards the touchline.
James McNicholas
The tournament of early goals continues
Cody Gakpo put the Netherlands ahead in the 20th minute. By tournament standards, that’s a fairly early goal, especially in the round of 16, where knockout matches make things more complicated. Except by Euro 2024 standards, it’s a late goal. This tournament has been characterised by games that open early: the Netherlands conceded a goal in the sixth minute on Matchday 3 against Austria and in the 16th minute on Matchday 1 against PolandIt is the first time in the tournament that they have scored first.
Even with eight games left to play, Euro 2024 has already seen more goals in the first 30 minutes of play (33) than Euro 2020 (29). It is leading to strange game situations, with inferior teams taking a surprise lead against better teams and being able to fall behind for longer, or teams with a lot of possession scoring earlier than expected and having to decide whether to try to play the ball or stay behind for longer.
(Sebastian Widmann – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)
The Netherlands opted to attack more in the first half in search of a second goal, but were met with a flurry of Romanian attacks and set pieces at the end of the first half.
As Belgium Head coach Domenico Tedesco and Slovakia As coach Francesco Calzona has pointed out, the level of Europe’s “lesser” teams has risen in this tournament, particularly when it comes to their game plan without possession, as Romania demonstrates: strong defences in a 4-4-2 mid/low block. This means that comebacks are always possible in games, as the win rate of teams that score first is only 55 percent in this tournament, well below the 71.4 percent at Euro 2020.
If goals change games, then early goals really change games.
Liam Tharme
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(Top photo: Getty Images)