Barney Ronay on the Dutch defeat
Here is the report.
Full-time: Netherlands 0-2 Czech Republic
The Czech Republic advance to a quarter-final date with Denmark. This was a comprehensive victory even if De Light’s sending off gave them a critical edge. Always disciplined and powerful, they showed shrewdness and skill to make the most of their extra man. Holes and Schick go the goals for a team starting to show certain Greece 2004 vibes ...
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90+4 min: There is no chance of the Dutch pulling even one goal back. They are utterly defeated.
90+3 min: Coufal shows his power by shouldering Promes off the ball and then lumbering forward, until Promes gets back and kicks him to the ground in frustration.
Czech substitutions: Krmencik and Sadilek on, Schick and Barak off.
90+1 min: There will be at least six minutes of time added on ...
90 min: Barak wins a corner for the Czech Republic after a counter-attack led by Kral.
89 min: Depay clips a freekick into the Czech penalty area. The Czechs clear ... and then counter-attack. Schicks sends it from the let into Barak, in splendid isolation at the edge of the Dutch box! But he bungles his control and the ball trickles away to safety.
87 min: The Czechs exchange leisurely passes in the Dutch half, exactly where they want to be for the remainder of the match. “Barcelona must have seen something in Depay’s skills that have clearly been locked away until he arrives in Spain,” parps Peter Littley. “Or is being Dutch enough justification?”
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Czech substitution: Kral on, Holes off after an excellent performance.
85 min: De Jong booked, I think for protesting after Dumfries is penalised for a foul on Vaclik. De Jon was right to be aggrieved - there was no foul - but bleating about it achieved nothing other than irritating the ref.
84 min: The Netherland look hopeless now. The Czech Republic are bossing this. They’re stronger, smarter and, of course, more numerous.
82 min: Depay sends a curling cross towards Weghorst, but Kalas gets to it first and heads to safety.
Netherlands substitutions: Timber and Berghuis on, Blind and Van Aanholt off.
GOAL! Netherlands 0-2 Czech Republic (Schick 80)
Holes bounds on to the ball in midfield, outmuscling Wijnaldum and then careering into the box and pulling it back for Schick, who arrives on the run to slot it first time into the net!
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Czech Republic substitution: Jankto on, Masopust off.
79 min: From the left-hand corner of the box, Masopust aims a delicate curler towards the top corner of the net. Stekelenburg watches it all the way and catches it without bother.
78 min: Soucek is given time and space on the ball about 10 yards outside the Dutch box. He looks around, sees no one available, so decides to have a blast. It’s a comfortable save for the keeper.
77 min: Dumfries flashes a testing cross into the danger zone, but the keeper bats it away.
75 min: The Netherlands appear to have shifted to something like a 4-2-2-1 as they seek a way back into this.
Netherlands substitution: Weghorst on, De Roon off.
72 min: Drinks break. What the Dutch need most is a drop of inspiration.
70 min: Celustska clumps into Depay from behind, giving the Dutch a freekick midway inside the Czech half. They need to make the most of such opportunities, but the Czechs have been dominant from setpieces ... and they head this one away easily enough.
67 min: There were three defenders on the line trying to block that header but Holes gave it a proper loaf and no one could stop it. The Czechs have made their numerical advantage pay. Now how can the Dutch respond?
GOA!L Netherlands 0-1 Czech Republic (Holes 67)
A freekick from the right is headed back from beyond the far post, and Holes nuts it into the net from four yards!
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66 min: Stekelenburg nearly fumbles a cross into his own goal! But he’s lucky that it drops the other side of the post, so all the Czechs get is a corner.
65 min: Kaderabek gets forward to receive a pass on the left-hand side of the Dutch box. He tries to send a sidefooter into the far corner but Dumfries reads it and blocks.
64 min: The Czechs are enjoying more time on the ball now around midfield, with the depleted Dutch recoiling and trying to lure them forward so they can spring a counter.
62 min: Van Aanholt zooms down the let and cracks in a decent low cross, but the Czechs scramble it away.
60 min: Promes is forced into the concession of a corner. The Czech fans behind the goal cheer their big men as they march forward. The corner is pinged into the near post, where Schick heads wide.
58 min: Things are spicing up now! Holland are piqued and the Czechs are buoyed. They’re going at each other good style...
Netherlands substitution: Needing to adjust following De Ligt’s sending off, the Dutch replace Malen with Quincy Promes.
56 min: Coufal curls the freekick into the Dutch wall ... and then chops down Dumfries to thwart a counter-attack. That’s a blatant booking for Coufal.
RED CARD!
After reviewing the incident on the pitchside screen, the Russian referee decides that De Ligt deliberately used his hand to deny Schick a goalscoring opportunity. The punishment is upgraded from a yellow to a red card.
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53 min: The referee has booked De Ligt but the Czechs say the player should be sent off. And VAR advises the ref to have a gander on the pitchside screen...
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52 min: Action stations! Thanks to a cute flick by Depay, Malen finds himself with a free run on goal, with only the keeper to beat! He tries to skip around Vaclik but the keeper keeps his eye on the ball and snaffles it! And then the Czechs hurtle down the other end ... and De Ligt perpetrates a deliberate handball to stop Schick beating him at the edge of the area!
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51 min: Masopust and Holes try to combine just outside the Dutch box, but Wijnaldum puts paid to their meddling.
49 min: Dumfries escapes down the right wing but overhits an intended pass for Malen in the centre.
48 min: It’s tight. And the longer it continues like this, the heavier the burden of expectancy may weight on the Dutch ...
46 min: Dumfries gets the first booking of the game, for inadvertently catching Kaderabek with an elbow as the pair jumped for an aerial ball.
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46 min: Neither country has made a personnel change during the interval. The Dutch get the second half going.
Half-time: Netherlands 0-0 Czech Republic
The Dutch started vibrantly but the organised and athletic Czechs gradually grew into the game and it’s now very even between two contrasting side. I mentioned the Czechs famous win over the Netherlands at Euro 2004; well, that Czech team ultimately lost to Greece; and this Czech team has certain similarities with those Greeks. This is tricky for the Dutch.
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45+2 min: Lovely move by the Netherlands, with virtually every player getting a touch. When it reaches Depay in the box, he rolls past Kalas at the right-hand side of the box and flips a pass through to van Aanholt ... who drags his shot wide from nine yards! Oh, he was offside anyway.
45 min: There will be at least two more minutes before half-time, presumably because of the drinks break.
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43 min: After a bout of Dutch probing, Blind suddenly aims a diagonal pass to Van Aanholt, who believes he has sprung the offside trap and is in on goal! But he;’s wrong. “Has somebody already made the joke about the Czech defence being full of Holes,” wonders John Little. “If so, can I add the players who took Czech through against Netherlands in 1976 were Sastny and Nehoda, which translates as ‘happy accident.’”
40 min: The Czechs have generally succeeded in suppressing the early Dutch vim but Dumfries has just burst down the right and fired in a vicious low cross. The keeper deflected it away with his legs.
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38 min: Nice move by the Czechs Republic led through the middle by Soucek. Masopust then slips it through to Barak at the right-hand side of the box. His shot from 12 yards is deflected over by De Ligt!
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37 min: Malen briefly threatens to lead a break but the Czechs file back rapidly to extinguish the danger. They’re starting to get a grip on this game ...
34 min: A zippy move down the right by the Czech Republic concludes with a cross by Coufal being put out for a corner. The setpiece is cleared, but it’s plain that the right wing is the Czechs move productive avenue of attacks thanks, in particular , to Masopust and Coufal.
32 min: That’s how to unlock a disciplined defence! Well, nearly. Wijnaldum made a a sudden dash from deep to create space for Malen to drift into, whereupon the forward was picked out by Dumfries. But when Malen unloaded a shot from 12 yards, there were still several bodies in the way, and one diverted it behind for a corner.
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30 min: With Holes frequently dropping back into defence, the Czechs are practically playing a 5-4-1 now, and they’ve stemmed the flow of Dutch attacks for the moment.
28 min: Schick has time to turn about 23 yards and that can only have one consequence: shot incoming! But it takes a nick off De Ligt, leaving Stekelburg with an easy save.
26 min: Rehydration seems to have served De Jong well, as he muscles Masopust off the ball on the edge of his own area and spins away. “What the hell is Frank de Boer wearing?” barks Steven Davidson. He’s wearing a short-sleeved black polo shirt and black strides. What the hell is your problem with that? Don’t answer, I don’t care.
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24 min: A drinks break, which gives De Boer as chance to a tactical powwow with De Roon, in particular.
I notice that there's a lot of rainbow colours being used in quite a few of the ads around the ground. Nice one! @Paul_Doyle #NEDCZE
— Count Brissa (@CountBrissa) June 27, 2021
21 min: The Czechs have none of the fluency of the Netherlands but they rumble forward when they can. Sevcik introduces a bit of class with a subtle acceleration down the right followed by a dangerous cross. Soucek flings himself at it and heads narrowly wide from seven yards!
18 min: De Jong supplies Depay, who, having dropped deep, fizzes a low pass through for Van Aanholt to chase down the left. Van Aanholt gets to it and lashes it across the face of goal, where Kanadarek hoofs it to safety. The pressure on the Czech defence is rising. “I know your question was rhetorical,” acknowledges Simon McMahon. “ But just to be clear - no, Berti Vogts is not an all time great manager. Certainly not. No.”
16 min: Depay’s bends a corner into the danger zone, but Soucek heads it clear.
15 min: Depay is fouled in the centre circle after taking the ball down brilliantly and laying it off to De Jong. The Dutch take the freekick quickly and work their way into the opposing box, where Malen wins another corner.
12 min: Blind fires the sort of searching long pass in which he has been specialising throughout this tournament. Vaclik hurtles out of his box to try to intercept but Dumfries beat him to it and heads it on, then chases after it. A defender keeps pace with him and slides in to block his attempted shot into an empty goal. A corner is all the Dutch get.
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10 min: The Czechs are having to withstand fierce pressure, with the Dutch attacking rapidly down both flanks. So far the defence has held firm. “Forget Gareth Southgate, forget Jogi Low and forget Roberto Mancini,” demands Anis Aslaam. “If the Dutch won this tournament, I think it’ll be the redemption of de Boer. For all the condemnation he suffered in the EPL, Serie A and MLS, a victory in this tournament will put him in the pantheon of great football managers.” It would be an admirable feat, especially given his unpopular formation change, but I don;’t think winning one tournament qualifies a manager as a great. Is Berti Vogts an all-time great manager? Indeed, is Didier Deschamps?
7 min: The Dutch take a corner short, pulling it to Blind, who arrows a lovely cross towards the back post. De Light outjumps the defender but directs his header across goal rather than into it.
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5 min: A tricky faint by Depay takes him past one defender. Then he tries to scamper past another and towards the box, but the Czechs converge on him quickly to crowd him out.
3 min: The Dutch are setting the tempo so far, pressing very high when the Czechs have the ball and popping it about quickly when they get it.
2 min: Holes tries a hammer shot from 30 yards but it careers way over.
1 min: An early sign of the Netherland’s attacking ambition! They tear down the left and Malen flights a delicate cross towards the back post. Dumfries was arriving unmarked but it was fractionally too long for him.
1 min: The Czech Republic set the game in motion.
The teams file out on to the pitch and are greeted by full-throated approval. The Czechs are clad all in white, the Dutch in their customary orange.
Gareth Southgate has popped up on ITV to answer a few questions. He explains that Mason Mount and Ben Chilwell have not been allowed to train fully with the rest of the England squad yet and “have a had to spent a lot of time in a room on their own”. He does not say whether they will be considered for selection against Germany on Tuesday. Although everybody is dismissing, they have very, very experienced big game players We’ll have to be at our vest best to win the game”. He fends off suggestions that his team have been excessively cautious so far: “We don’t say to the players ‘don’t play the ball forward, don’t move the ball quickly, don’t attack’. We want to be better with the ball and move it more quickly.”
“Re: Uefa’s statement - did they not just forbid the Allianz Arena being lit up like a rainbow because that would be political?” howls James Humphries. “What a bunch of spineless hypocrites.” The logic they used in the Allianz case was that local authorities had said lighting up the stadium would be a direct response to an oppressive new law in Hungary and, as such, that would be political. It’s a contortion that, yes indeed, exposes Uefa’s spinelessness.
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Our man in Budapest, Andy Hunter, has been in touch with Uefa following the reports of Hungarian police taking rainbow flags off fans. Here is a statement from Uefa: “Uefa had earlier today informed the Hungarian Football Federation that that rainbow-coloured symbols are not political and that in line with Uefa’s Equal Game campaign which aims at fighting against any type of discrimination, including against the LGBTQI+ community, such flags will be allowed into the stadium. Contrary to some reports in Dutch media, Uefa would like to clarify that it has not banned any rainbow-coloured symbols from the fan zone in Budapest and that the fan zone is under the responsibility of the local authorities. Uefa on the contrary would very much welcome any such symbol into the fan zone.”
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“I just read on Dutch news that Hungarian police is confiscating rainbow flags that Dutch fans brought with them to Budapest,” writes Inge Kersten. “It’s a very sad day for LGBTQ+ community, democracy and the EU. Uefa should take a stand.”
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Teams
Frank De Boer has named the expected side, with Malen retaining his place up front ahead of Weghorst. The Czechs make three changes to the side that started the defeat by England, There are three changes for the Czech Republic from the side who were beaten 1-0 by England. Captain Vladimir Darida has not recovered from a training ground injury and is replaced by Kaderabek. Also, Barak and Sevcik come in for Boril and Jankto.
Netherlands: Stekelenburg; De Vrij, De Light, Blind; Dumfries, De Jong, De Roon, Van Aanholt; Wijnaldum; Malen, Depay
Subs: Krul, Bizot, Veltman, Aké, Wijndal, Berghuis, Promes, Klaassen, Gravenberch, Weghorst, Timber, Gakpo
Czech Republic: Vaclik; Coufal, Celustka, Kalas, Kadarabek; Holes, Soucek; Masupost, Barak, Sevcik; Schick
Subs: Mandous, Koubek, Brabek, Krmencik, Jankto, Hlozek, Vydra, Kral, Mateju, Pekhart, Pesek, Sadilek
Referee: S Karasev (Rus)
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Preamble
Hello and welcome to a duel for the right to face Denmark in the quarter-finals. The Netherlands have won all three of their matches so far and have been great fun to watch, too, but then the same was said about Italy before Austria gave them a jolt yesterday. So let’s see how the Dutch do on their first trip outside Amsterdam – to Budapest, to be precise, where a full stadium will have plenty of Czech fans on hand to roar their team on to an upset.
For inspiration, the underdogs can draw on the memory of 2004 and a true Euro classic, when the Czech Republic came from 2-0 down to beat the Netherlands 3-2 and advance to a quarter-final … against Denmark. The Czechs are a solid, energetic team who could threaten from set-pieces and, of course, through the sharpness of Patrik Schick. They need to find a replacement for their suspended left-back, Jan Boril, but other than that, their preparation has been smooth.
The Dutch, meanwhile, seem to have found fluency in the 3-4-1-2 system that Frank de Boer introduced just before the tournament. A productive supply line has emerged between Daley Blind, Frenkie de Jong and Memphis Depay, while Gini Wijnaldum has revelled in an attacking midfield role and Denzel Dumfries has zoomed up and down the right flank like a man determined to become the first wingback to win the Golden Boot. The Czechs’ challenge is to stifle those threats somehow, and test the strength of the Dutch defence. It’s all set up for a humdinger. Let’s be having you!
