The Netherlands, in front of 16,000 fans as raucous as 50,000 in Amsterdam, entered the Euro with a 3-2 victory over Ukraine, after a match with a crazy scenario.
“Oranje”, who returned in the international tournament, after missing the European Nations Cup 2016 and the 2018 World Cup, shares the top spot in Group C with Austria, who won North Macedonia 3-1.
The meeting was presented to TVA Sports.
Frank de Boer’s men will host Austria, again in Amsterdam, for the group’s second day on June 17.
For an hour, “Orange” dominated: Wijnaldum in the midfield and Depay in the attack were the spearheads of a strong team confident in their strength. And coach Frank de Boer’s men were logically rewarded at the start of the second half by Wijnaldum (52) and Wieghurst (58).
Then lightning struck the circuit of Johan Cruyff: within four minutes, Yarmolenko (2-1, 75) and Yaremchuk (2-2, 79) turned the match!
Before Dumfries, one of the evening’s greatest men, scored the head-gear goal (85), Zinchenko’s lead into the surface, to give a victory after all his team deserved.
To enter the race, the Dutch national team put in an impressive hour-long performance, despite the absence of several key players, including Matthijs de Ligt, the defense coach who is slowly recovering from a thigh injury.
Outstanding in the game, more present in duels, they entered the match at a rate of 100 per hour, creating half a dozen chances in the first period.
Apparently the man in the first 45 minutes was Ukrainian No. 1 Georgy Pushchan. The Dynamo Kiev goalkeeper initially avoided a knockout entry with a shot from Depay in the second minute, before saving a first-class backlash three minutes later against Dumfries.
Then he made other crucial matches and saved, notably the attempt of Wijnaldum (39), captain of the Netherlands in the absence of Virgil van Dijk, injured for several months.
The score: 0-0 In the break that did not reflect the Orange’s superiority, it was pushed by 16,000 very happy fans to help give football its popular voice, which has unfortunately been extinct for more than a year behind closed doors.
Ukraine let go in the opening minutes of the second half. On the block, Dumfries cross kick. Buchan went out well to stop the ball, but Wijnaldum appeared from a distance behind the defense to score with a shot from the edge of the area (1-0, 52).
Six minutes later, Wout Weghorst opportunistically resumed a poorly blocked defense on Dumfries’ offside (2-0, 58).
Given the nature of the match, one could think that the match is folded.
The count was without the fighting spirit of the players Andrei Shevchenko. West Ham striker Yarmolenko reduced the score (75) with a superb shot from his left foot from a distance of twenty metres. Then Yaremchuk won over his head at the penalty point from a free kick by Malinovsky (79).
But Dumfries emerged in 85th place and gave the Netherlands three valuable points.
