The Netherlands reached the quarter-finals of the UEFA Men’s European Championship for the first time in 16 years on Tuesday after crushing Romania 3-0.
Cody Gakpo opened the scoring in the 20th minute and Donyell Malen scored twice late on to send the Dutch into the Euro quarter-finals for the first time since 2008.
“Our overall performance today was exceptional. We have to keep this level if we want to continue in the tournament,” said Netherlands coach Ronald Koeman. “If we slacken off, we won’t make it to the final.”
The Dutch missed a number of golden chances to extend their lead after Gakpo’s goal, with captain Virgil van Dijk’s effort hitting the post. However, the Netherlands produced a much more inspired performance than their previous group stage encounter, in a 3-2 defeat to Austria.
The Netherlands could get their revenge quickly, as they could face Austria again on Saturday in Berlin – provided the Austrians beat Turkey in the last-16 match at the end of the programme on Tuesday.
It was Gakpo’s third goal of the tournament, moving him level with Germany’s Jamal Musiala, Georgia’s Georges Mikautadze and Slovakia’s Ivan Schranz at the top of the competition’s scorers.
Romania dominated possession until Gapko’s net, although they never really tested Dutch goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen. Instead, the Netherlands opened the scoring after Xavi Simons burst forward before picking out Gakpo on the left flank. The Liverpool FC forward veered past Andrei Ratiu and fired into the near corner of the Romanian net.
Gakpo could have doubled his team’s lead in the second half, but his goal was ruled out for offside. He returned to the charge with seven minutes left in regulation time, setting up Malen’s goal.
The Dutch capped their flawless performance in stoppage time, when Simons connected with Malen, who was on the run from midfield. The Dutch forward did not hesitate and skilfully beat Romanian goalkeeper Florin Nita.
“It’s the end of a beautiful story that began two years ago,” said Edward Iordanescu, who manages the Romanian team. “The club made a great effort, but there is sadness. We wanted more, but we gave it our all.”
Türkiye 2 Austria 1
Merih Demiral scored twice to send Turkey into the quarter-finals with a 2-1 win over Austria.
Demiral opened the scoring after less than a minute and scored again in the second half.
The Turks will face the Netherlands in Berlin on Saturday.
The match started in a fierce manner.
Both teams had chances in the opening 30 seconds and Demiral scored in the first minute after the Austrian defence failed to clear a corner.
UEFA put the goal at 57 seconds, making it the second-fastest in Euro history. Albania scored after 23 seconds against Italy in the group stage.
Arda Guler delivered a perfect corner for Demiral to head in for the second goal in the 59th minute.e.