The Netherlands advanced to the Euro 2024 quarter-finals with a 3-0 victory over Romania in Munich, securing their place in the last eight despite a plethora of missed chances.
Ronald Koeman’s team dominated with 23 attempts, but it was Cody Gakpo’s first-half goal and a late brace from substitute Donyell Malen that sealed the win. Romania, playing in their first knockout match since Euro 2000, started with energy and forced the Dutch to defend early on. However, the Oranje soon took control. Gakpo opened the scoring by beating goalkeeper Florin Nita at his near post, becoming the third player to score three or more goals at two different major tournaments for the Netherlands, joining legends Johnny Rep and Dennis Bergkamp.
Despite numerous opportunities to extend their lead, including a close header from Stefan de Vrij and a near-miss by Xavi Simons, the Dutch remained wasteful. After the break, Virgil van Dijk’s header hit the post, and Gakpo had a second goal disallowed by VAR for offside. The Dutch continued to press, with Memphis Depay’s free-kick narrowly missing and Joey Veerman’s shot sliding just wide.
The decisive second goal finally came when Gakpo set up Malen for an easy finish. Malen then capped the victory with a well-placed shot into the bottom corner following a neat pass from Simons. The Netherlands will face Turkey in the quarter-finals in Berlin on Saturday.
Credit: BBC Sport
