Home Football Crushing Iceland with 4 goals, the Orange Storm’ showcases its power with some superb headers, with Van Dijk excellently finishing off a perfectly executed corner kick

Crushing Iceland with 4 goals, the Orange Storm’ showcases its power with some superb headers, with Van Dijk excellently finishing off a perfectly executed corner kick

Football — 06/11/2024

In their final friendly match before heading to Germany for the “pre-tournament camp,” the Dutch team secured a flawless preparation cycle for Euro 2024 by defeating Iceland 4-0. Iceland’s recent unexpected victory against England in a friendly match heightened the Dutch team’s respect for coach Age Hareide’s side. As a result, the atmosphere at Feyenoord Stadium became intense right from the opening whistle.

The Netherlands beat Iceland by 4 goals, De Jong bid farewell to Euro 2024 - Photo 4.

Under the intense pressure exerted by the home team, the turnaround happened swiftly, catching everyone by surprise. Iceland found themselves suddenly playing in a congested manner, adopting a passive defensive stance, and being completely overwhelmed by their more dominant opponents. The deadlock was broken in the 23rd minute when Xavi Simons swiftly advanced towards Iceland’s goal, received a pass from Denzel Dumfries, and effortlessly scored.

The Netherlands beat Iceland by 4 goals, De Jong bid farewell to Euro 2024 - Photo 1.

Iceland’s defensive efforts managed to prevent further goals in the first half, but they faced more punishment from the home team in the second half. Early in the second half, the Netherlands extended their lead with a goal scored by a midfielder. The home team earned a corner kick on the right wing, and after three successive headers from Netherlands players, Nathan Ake eventually set up Van Dijk for the goal.

Iceland came close to narrowing the deficit in the 70th minute when Stefan Thordarson’s long-range shot struck the right post of the Dutch goal. The lackluster response from the away team spurred the Netherlands to intensify their efforts in search of 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 Netherlands beat Iceland by 4 goals, De Jong bid farewell to Euro 2024 - Photo 3.

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.