HomeUEFA EuroDUTCH AT THE SUMMIT

DUTCH AT THE SUMMIT

By Karthik Mudaliar

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North Macedonia vs Netherlands

The Netherlands continue their winning streak in Euro 2020 as they win their final matchday against North Macedonia with a whopping 3 goals lead. North Macedonia lost the game, but have surely won a lot of hearts with their performance in the tournament. The debutants couldn’t win a single game but have been brave throughout the group stage.

They had a weak side on paper but nobody predicted them to perform so well. A win would have been a fairytale ending for their campaign but a ruthless Dutch side ripped them apart.

The Netherlands had already qualified for the Round of 16 of Euro 2020 after winning both of their group stage fixtures but still, it looked like they weren’t taking North Macedonia too easy as unlike Italy, Frank de Boer played most of his first-choice team.

 

 

Although North Macedonia were already out of the tournament before the game, they have been looking really promising and will surely take a lot of positives out of their Euro 2020 campaign. They also were about to get away with a draw against Austria in their opening game had it not been for the 2 late goals they conceded. North Macedonia has surprised everyone with their football in their first Euro campaign and have surely laid the foundation for the future of their football.

Both teams started off looking to get an early goal in the game and came close to glory in the early minutes. North Macedonia’s Trikovski netted the ball in the 10th minute but the goal didn’t stand since the player was just offside.

The Netherlands’ darting attackers also came close to scoring multiple times but were just not able to finish the link-up play. Trajkovski came nearly scored in the 20th minute as his shot taken from outside the box beat the goalkeeper but sadly struck the post.

 

 

 

The Netherlands were one goal ahead in what was an entertaining half of football as both the teams were exchanging possession of the ball. We got to see some end-to-end action throughout the 45. North Macedonia should be happy with their performance in the first half as they came close to scoring multiple times and always looked like a threat whenever they had the ball.

The Netherlands started off shaky but were slowly getting back into their groove ad they showed some beautiful attacking display in the dying minutes of the first 45. At the halfway point, the game was too close to call and despite the one-goal lead, the Dutchmen were being troubled by the North Macedonian forwards.

 

 

The Netherlands didn’t seem like settling for just 3 goals as they didn’t stop their aggressive attacking play. The Dutch striker Werghost got subbed in at the 66th minute and was about to score with his first touch on the ball, but was stopped by the crossbar. With 20 minutes remaining another North Macedonia goal was disallowed because of the offside rule. It seemed like lady luck was just not with the debutants tonight.

 

 

The Netherlands continued to dominate the game for the rest of the 90 but fair play to North Macedonia as they didn’t start slacking even though they were defeated.

Ever since North Macedonia conceded the second goal, they didn’t seem as confident as they did in the beginning of the game but still were trying to score for pride at every opportunity they could muster. Overall it was a massive but predicted win for the Netherlands and they are looking confident heading onto the knockout stages.

 

CAN THE DUTCHMEN ACTUALLY GO ALL THE WAY?

 

 

There is no doubt that the Netherlands are one of the favourites to lift the Euro 2020 trophy and we just saw why, with their performance against North Macedonia. They dominated throughout the group stage and have scored 8 and conceded only 3 goals in their 3 games.

This is the first time the dUtchmen have reached the Euro 2020 knockout stages since 2008 and hence they would be looking to make the most of this golden opportunity. They are about to face one of the lucky losers of the tournament and hence their chances of reaching the quarter-finals is highly likely.

Their squad is in form and their key players are scoring goals, they couldn’t have asked for a better start to their Euro 2020 campaign. They are as of now one of the top 5 contenders for the title, but we haven’t really seen how strong they are defensively.

They faced trouble in their game against Ukraine and haven’t really faced any star-studded squads up till now. We’ll have to wait and see if they actually have a strong backline or have they been only lucky so far.

 

DUMFRIES TO CAUSE TROUBLE AHEAD

 

Denzel Dumfries
Image Courtesy: Instagram/ Denzel Dumfries

 

Denzel Dumfries is one of the best and most consistent players in the tournament so far. Despite being a full-back, he always looks like a goal threat. His passing, dribbling and finishing have been top-notch and he nearly netted another one tonight against North Macedonia. He is surely one of the top names in the team sheet and Frank de Boer’s trump card is surely about to do a lot of damage ahead in the tournament.

 

FAREWELL LEGEND

 

Goran Pandev played his last game for North Macedonia tonight as he has decided to hang up his boots after an amazing tournament. The hard work of 20 long years have finally paid off as he led his country to the Euros for the first time in their history.

He was subbed off at the 67th minute as the whole stadium including the Dutch players applauded the veteran. A true fairytale ending for his international career, Pandev has surely laid the foundation for North Macedonia to build upon their future on the international stage. He is going to go down the history books as an absolute legend and despite losing all games, he has won all the hearts.

Karthik Mudaliar
A Manchester City fan, who idolizes Guardiola. Never blue unlike the team he supports, you will always find him smiling. He spends his free time playing Fifa and watching anime on most days.

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