After losing to Austria, the Netherlands were doubtful before entering the match against Romania in the round of 16 of Euro 2024. However, coach Koeman’s army has completely transformed and shown terrible strength.
Romania only really put pressure on the Netherlands in the first 10 minutes of the match. They couldn’t sustain that momentum. For the rest of the match, the Netherlands turned the Allianz Arena into their stage.
The Netherlands have big ambitions in the knockout round of EURO 2024. Meeting Romania is a good opportunity for coach Koeman’s team to book a ticket to the quarter-finals of the tournament in Germany.
Although the Netherlands only qualified for the knockout round as the third-placed team, while Romania was the top team in Group E, the Netherlands were still rated higher than Romania. Coach Ronald Koeman’s team entered the match slowly, true to their position as a giant.
For their part, Romania’s first 10 minutes were fiery. The yellow team continuously attacked, creating opportunities in front of Verbruggen’s goal. The problem for them was the sharpness and accuracy in the final attacks.
Although they started the game confidently, the Netherlands had individuals who knew how to shine. In the 20th minute, striker Cody Gakpo dribbled the ball around the Romanian defender before taking a decisive long-range shot into the near corner, beating goalkeeper Nita. Thanks to that, the Netherlands took the lead.
After that, the Netherlands created many more chances. However, the first half ended without any more goals.
After the break, the Netherlands slowed down their play, ready to launch counter-attacks when the opportunity arose. However, it was not until the 83rd minute that a defensive error by Romania allowed the Netherlands to score their second goal. After Gakpo’s dribbling effort, the ball was passed out and Malen’s job was extremely easy.
It didn’t stop there because in the 90+3 minute, Malen completed his double after a solo and accurate shot. Thanks to that, the Netherlands entered the quarterfinals with a resounding 3-0 victory over Romania.
