Netherlands Overpower Austria to Catch Second Euro 2020 Win in a Row

A clinical and efficient version of the Netherlands made short work of Austria in the second match-day of Euro 2020 Group C. Frank De Boer’s Oranje made the best of the few chances they had, finding the back of the net with Memphis Depay from the spot and then at the end of a beautiful counterattack finalized by Denzel Dumfries.

Netherlands thus advanced to the knockout stage after just two games and also grabbed the top spot in the group, showing that their able to easily change their skin: In their first win outing with Ukraine, they were sparkling yet careless. Tonight, their performance was all about efficiency. That does not necessarily make them a top candidate to lift the trophy but surely the Oranje are one team to watch for.

For the second match at the Johan Cruijff Area, Frank De Boer recovered Matthijs De Ligt from the start, though the Juventus youngster had been in doubt until the very last minute. The Austrians, on the other hand, were missing Marko Arnautovic, who was punished by the UEFA for addressing North Macedonia’s Ezgjan Alioski with some racist remarks during the first game. 

Netherlands had to make a statement to continue from the positive trend seen in their first game against Ukraine and they rightly did so – troubling the scorecard after just 11 minutes.

Denzel Dumfries continued to wreak havoc from the right wing like he’d done against Ukraine and prompted David Alaba to stomp on his foot in an attempt to stop him. Referee Orel Grinfeeld initially ruled the foul to have happened outside the box but the VAR corrected him.

From the penalty spot, Memphis Depay made no mistake and put Netherlands in the driving seat. The Barcelona transfer market target had the merit to break to break the balance but had much to be blamed for as on 40 minutes he incredibly missed the easiest chance to double his scoring.

From a Wout Weghorst service, all Memphis had to do was gently push the ball into the back of the net but he somehow sliced it and sent it crashing into the stands of the Johann Cruijff Arena.

Between these two episodes, the first half unfolded with the Oranje keeping the pressure high and leaving little space to Austria, who never came close to threaten 39-year-old Maarten Stekelenburg.

It took 15 minutes into the second period to see some more action: Austria’s goalkeeper Daniel Bachmann resorted to his reflexes to push back a close-range Stefan De Vrij header, then De Ligt saw his tap in attempt cleared by the defense.

On 67 minutes, Netherlands had their second. Memphis Depay picked substitute Donyell Malen with a sharp back-heel pass right past the midfield line. Malen’s run ended with a fine service for Dumfries who, with the Austrian defense caught on the counter, had an easy task in slotting the ball home to seal his second goal in this Euro.  

The Dutch’s second goal basically got the job done for coach De Boer. Austria only had one chance when, from a Valentino Lazaro corner kick, Owen Wijndal risked deflecting the ball into his own goal. Other than that, Netherlands were able to pull the game off quite comfortably, booking their place among the Top 16 with one match-day in advance.

For what concerns Austria, Franko Foda’s men are still fully in contention to also make it to the knockout stage – though their final match with Ukraine will be decisive in that regard.

 

MATCH SCORECARD

June 17, 2021 – European Championship 2020 Group A
NETHERLANDS-AUSTRIA 2-0

SCORERS: 11′ Depay pen., 67′ Dumfries

NETHERLANDS (3-5-2): Stekelenburg; Dumfries, De Ligt, De Vrij, Blind (64′ Akè), Van Aanholt (64′ Wijndal); F. De Jong, De Roon (74′ Gravenberch), Wijnaldum; Depay (82′ L. De Jong), Weghorst (64′ Malen) (Krul, Bizot, Timber, Veltman, Klaassen, Promes, Berghuis) Coach: De Boer
AUSTRIA (3-4-1-2): Bachmann; Lainer, Dragovic (84′ Lienhart), Hinteregger, Ulmer; Laimer (62′ Grillitsch), Schlager (84′ Onisiwo); Sabitzer, Baumgartner (70′ Lazaro), Alaba; Gregoritsch (62′ Kalajdzic) (Schlager, Pervan, Friedl, Trimmel, Ilsanker, Schaub, Schopf) Coach: Foda

REFEREE: Grinfeeld (Israel)
NOTES: Yellow Card: De Roon, F. De Jong (N), Alaba, Bachmann (A); Extra Time: 1st Half 2′, 2nd Half 4′