Romania vs Netherlands
Stefan de Vrij sends in a corner for Memphis Depay to meet, yet his header misses its target. A swift Dutch counter attack ends in Cody Gakpo firing a shot that heroically gets blocked.
Ronald Koeman must be delighted by how his side are performing so far. Dennis Man has shot over repeatedly as Romania attempts to score. Ronald Koeman must be very pleased with how well his side are playing.
Romania vs Netherlands Netherlands: Nita
Ronald Koeman must be overjoyed that the Dutch have advanced to the last eight and kept possession for most of the game and attempted close-range shots despite Cody Gakpo’s early goal.
Late on, The Oranje also had the chance to extend their lead, with Xavi Simons coming within inches of doubling it when he found space on the right wing after Dennis Man’s superb pass was cleared off by Racovitan before being cleared away by Dennis Man. Four minutes of added time then presented the Romanian defence another scare; even with their wastefulness in front of goal they were one kick of the ball away from levelling it until six minutes from time thanks to some amazing defending from Andrei Ratiu and Florin Nita.
Romania vs Netherlands De Vrij
The Netherlands continue to dominate Romania with possession and pressure, yet their fluid attack is being disrupted. A fine move saw Cody Gakpo slip behind left back Jerdy Schouten’s pass before skimming past his man and unleashing an exquisite shot that flashed past Florin Nita’s near post.
Nita’s fingertip save keeps Romania alive as the Dutch attempt to seize control. A corner is taken short but De Vrij doesn’t manage a successful free header in a packed penalty area.
Dragusin commits a reckless foul against Marius Mitrea that effectively ends any promising counter-attack initiated by Nicolae Stanciu, as they try to break through the middle. Virgil van Dijk must remain alert in order to cut out the subsequent corner kick and Hagi returns playing with bandaged head but remains an influential presence midfield. A low shot from him finds him near goal but is well saved by Nita.
Romania vs Netherlands Malen
Romania fans provided an electric atmosphere at Allianz Arena that briefly unnerved Koeman’s side – however Cody Gakpo scored early to put Koeman’s side back in charge, followed by Donyell Malen doubling later for victory.
The Netherlands were in front after their star player, who has been the source of much debate throughout this tournament, broke through their defence with a brilliant shot to give them the advantage and make history with a goal that left no room for doubt as to his quality. It was truly deserving and should serve as a signal that anyone questioning his ability will soon learn of its worthiness.
Romania’s defensive weaknesses were exposed shortly after halftime when Memphis Depay failed to get off a shot, and Virgil van Dijk hit the post, before finally succumbing in stoppage time when Malen made history by tapping in with a superb goal – becoming the first substitute in Euro knockout history to score one!
Romania vs Netherlands Reijnders
After an intense collision between De Vrij and Stanciu, Romania earn a free-kick in an advantageous location – it hits cleanly but hits several Dutch players before going wide.
Substitute Tijjani Reijnders made an immediate impact by taking away the ball from a dawdling Dennis Man and clearing off the line with an outstanding tackle. From 25 yards he fired an acceptable but too close shot that didn’t reach its mark.
Cody Gakpo’s superb strike gave the Netherlands an early edge, and their second goal was a thing of beauty – taking a touch inside Andrei Ratiu before unleashing a precision shot past Florin Nita at his near post.
Romania vs Netherlands Stanciu
Depay completed his impressive run and finish by dribbling a free kick under the wall and just wide of Nita’s far post – giving Netherlands fans hope of their tournament not fading away so easily! There had been growing concerns in their camp after Austria’s slow performance that their tournament might fizzle out but Depay has given them something positive to cheer about again!
Koeman made two changes for Dumfries against Netherlands; switching out Xavi Simons in place of Dumfries and introducing Donyell Malen, in an attempt to revive his team’s fortunes. It seems to have worked; now they are pressing higher up the pitch and creating more dangerous positions than before.
Romania have endured a frustrating first half, yet have held their own against an onslaught by the Dutch and are not out of this game just yet. A second goal would surely see off their opponents but instead Virgil van Dijk has headed over, while Gakpo’s shot just misses target before going offside and thus negating all chances for Oranje to advance further in this encounter.
Romania vs Netherlands Verbruggen
After an initially slow start, the Netherlands quickly assert their dominance on Romania with ten first half corners taken. Virgil Van Dijk and De Vrij make key contributions before Memphis Depay misfires at goal with an excellent opportunity.
Jerdy Schouten floated a short pass that cut through Romania’s midfield and found Xavi Simons free in space. He raced towards Andrei Ratiu before cutting back and firing low shot past Nita for an equalizer.
Koeman has made changes to his squad, swapping out Steven Bergwijn for Donyell Malen of Borussia Dortmund while Joey Veerman replaces Jerry Schouten.
Dutch striker Tijani Reijnders goes on a powerful run that ends with his attempt being blocked – marking an impressive moment in a tight game in its final 15 minutes.
