Defeating Iceland 4-0 in the last friendly match before going to Germany for the “vice meeting”, the Dutch team completed the preparation cycle for Euro 2024 in the most perfect way.
Iceland just unexpectedly won against England in a friendly match a few days ago, so the Dutch host highly appreciates coach Age Hareide’s team, giving the Icelandic team a certain respect. . The battle at Feyenoord therefore became extremely tense right after the opening whistle.
No one thought that the situation would turn around so quickly under the intense pressure of the home team. Iceland suddenly played cramped, fell into a passive defensive position and was completely subdued by an opponent who was too advanced. The score opened in the 23rd minute when Xavi Simons quickly approached Iceland’s goal, caught a pass from Denzel Dumfries and easily scored.
Iceland’s resistance only kept them from losing another goal for the remainder of the first half before suffering further punishment from the home team in the second half of the match. Indeed, right at the beginning of the second half, the Netherlands scored a goal that doubled the gap thanks to a midfielder. The home team received a corner kick on the right wing and the ball continuously flew high in the air with three headers from the Netherlands. In the end, Nathan Ake was the last person to pass the ball for teammate Van Dijk to score.
Iceland almost shortened the score in the 70th minute when Stefan Thordarson’s long-range shot found the right post for the Dutch goal. The weak response of the away team made the Netherlands try harder to find more goals.
In the last 10 minutes of the match, substitute Donyell Malen not only directly scored but also assisted Wout Weghorst’s goal. The player who played very well in this match, Memphis Depay, almost put his name on the scoreboard if VAR did not catch a teammate’s handball error before he put the ball into Iceland’s net in the 81st minute.
The 4-0 final victory over Iceland ended the Netherlands’ preparation process before Euro 2024. “Orange Cyclone” is reviving strongly every day under the guidance of coach Ronald Koeman, winning both matches. possession and scored 8 goals, not conceding a single goal.
However, they received shocking news when midfielder Frankie de Jong retired due to injury.
The home team broke the deadlock midway through the first half when Joey Veerman and Denzel Dumfries combined skillfully to set up Simons for a close-range tap-in into the Iceland net.
Captain Van Dijk doubled the gap for host Netherlands 4 minutes after the match restarted, scoring from inside the six-yard box after a very accurate corner kick from Nathan Ake. Iceland had a chance to shorten the score not long after, but Stefan Thordarson’s shot was brilliantly saved by Bart Verbruggen.
The Netherlands scored a fourth goal in stoppage time when substitute Wout Weghorst scored from close range. VAR reviewed and confirmed the goal after Malen was initially flagged for offside before passing to the former Man United player.
With the EURO 2024 campaign set to begin with a match against Poland on Sunday, it’s safe to say the Netherlands are in good form. Oranje has now won 6 of the last 7 matches – including the last three matches at home with a score of 4-0. The orange tornado seems to be gaining form at the right time.