Schick scores goals, but he also pressures defenders and makes things happen. That was another element of his impressive performance. Schick was fortunate not to give away a free kick for initially fouling De Ligt, but his persistence earned the set piece and also led to the Dutch being forced to play for more than half an hour without their best defender. Key moments turn big games, and Malen's miss proved extremely costly less than a minute later when De Ligt was sent off after VAR informed referee Sergei Karasev that the Juventus defender had handled the ball as the last defender when under pressure from Schick. It was the type of chance that his illustrious predecessors would have buried, but Malen delayed his shot and it was enough for Vaclik to block his effort before smothering Depay's follow-up. Malen missed their best chance on 52 minutes when, after being released by a Memphis Depay flick, he burst through the Czech defence and left himself one-on-one with goalkeeper Tomas Vaclik. Had they been able to call upon one of their greats of yesteryear - Marco van Basten, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Robin van Persie, Patrick Kluivert and many more - the Netherlands would have won this round-of-16 tie comfortably. There is no world-class goal scorer available to De Boer, though, and that is hurting the Dutch. They also have issues in goal, where the 38-year-old Maarten Stekelenburg is long past his best, but Valencia's Jasper Cillessen - ruled out of this competition because of a positive COVID-19 test - and Norwich City's Tim Krul will at least give De Boer a top-level keeper playing regular first-team football in the months and years ahead. But unless the Dutch can unearth a striker like Schick, who took his Euro 2020 tally to four goals in four games with his 80th-minute strike in the Puskas Arena, they will not be a serious contender in 2022 or 2024.Įuro 2020: News and features | Fixtures and bracket | Standings | Squads | Live on ESPN | VAR watch | Pick 'em Denzel Dumfries, at 25, is another who will expect to be around at Qatar 2022 and Euro 2024 in Germany. Yes, they have bright, young talent with Frenkie de Jong, Matthijs de Ligt and Donyell Malen - all of whom made tournament debuts in this competition. The goalless draw ensured Slovakia tops Group E.You have reached a degraded version of because you're using an unsupported version of Internet Explorer.įor a complete experience, please upgrade or use a supported browserĬzech Republic's Patrik Schick reminds Netherlands what they're missing after being knocked out of Euro 2020īUDAPEST, Hungary - As Patrik Schick raced away to celebrate the goal that sealed the Czech Republic's 2-0 win against the Netherlands and a Euro 2020 quarterfinal date with Denmark, Dutch coach Frank de Boer gave a wistful look on the touchline - if only his team had a striker as reliable as the Bayer Leverkusen forward.ĭe Boer has succeeded in making the Netherlands relevant again by guiding them out of the group stage at Euro 2020 in the country's first major tournament since Louis van Gaal's team reached the semifinals at the 2014 World Cup, but this humbling defeat in Budapest was a reality check for the Oranje.Ĭoasting through arguably the easiest group at the tournament by winning all three games against Ukraine, Austria and North Macedonia perhaps gave many a false impression of the distance the Dutch have travelled under De Boer. His first-half shot was deflected on to the post and the Real Sociedad striker also created a chance for Marcus Berg, who should have scored. Spain dominated the game, but was unable to convert a number of chances, notably Alvaro Morata in the first half, while Gerard Moreno went close with a header late on.Īlexander Isak provided Sweden’s most potent threat. Later on Monday, Sweden surprisingly held Spain – winners of Euro 2008 and Euro 2012 – in a 0-0 draw in Seville. With the one man advantage, Slovakia finished the game off through a wonderful finish by Milan Skriniar. Poland did equalize shortly after half-time after Karol Linetty’s shot squirmed into the bottom corner but a comeback was cut short after Poland midfielder Grzegorz Krychowiak was sent off after picking up a second yellow card. The 31-year-old now has the unwanted record of becoming the first goalkeeper to score an own goal in European Championships history. Slovakia took the early lead after a shot cannoned off the post and hit Szczesny in the back before rolling into the net. Euro 2020: 24 teams playing across 51 matches in 11 host cities.Christian Eriksen sends message to Danish teammates from hospital after collapsing.Stunning long range goal lights up Euro 2020.How a nation of just 11 million people became world’s top-ranked football team.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |