There was no romance when Netherlands met Romania in the UEFA European Championship (Euro) 2024 in round of 16 in Munich where the former clobbered and knocked out the latter on Tuesday night.
Tuesday | July 2, 2024
The Dutch booked their berth in the quarterfinals in a 3-goal rout against the out character Romanians at Allianz Arena in Munich tonight.
In a round of 16 match which Netherlands dominated throughout the entire night, Romania kept chasing shadows. They tried in vain to string a few passes but they were scuppered at every turn.
Meanwhile Netherlands hummed with efficiency to the pleasure of their dugout personnel and travelling fans up in Germany, the host country, stands.
Once the Dutch kicked into gear, Cody Gakpo opened the scoring charts 20 minutes into the game to give purpose to their night prowl for a place in the last eight of the tournament.To cement this very ambition, Donyell Malen doubled the lead with an emphatic 83rd minute strike. If the Romanians were ever in doubt whether they would find a way back into the game, Malen allayed their misgivings with a 93rd minute, his second for the night.
At this stage, Netherlands were 3-0 ahead and in total control of this tug of war. For the romanians though, their hopes kept slipping through their very own hands. Their collective hopes were seemingly dashed into nothingness.
Romania was staring at defeat and there was very little the team could do with time ticking away with every bouncing ball. And they did neither seem to conjure up something nor interested in taking the game by the scruff of its neck. They all but looked resigned and utterly vanquished.
And that is how the Romanians bowed out of the 17th edition of the UEFA European Championship.
On the opposite end, the Dutch could not help but bask in the Munich night glory, if only for a short while. For there is still a whole lot of competitive football to be played to reach the ultimate destination in the final.
Therefore, the Netherlands will play Türkiye in the Euro 2024 quarterfinals on Saturday July 6, 2024 at 21h00.
Results
Tuesday July 2 EURO 2024 Round of 16:
Austria 1-2 Turkiye
Friday July 5 EURO Quarterfinals:
Spain vs German at MHPArena (Stuttgart) – 18h00
France vs Portugal at Volksparkstadion (Hamburg) – 21h00
Saturday July 6 EURO Quarterfinals:
England vs Switzerland at Merkur Spiel-Arena (Dusseldorf) – 18h00
Netherlands vs Türkiye at Olympiastadion Berlin (Berlin) – 21h00