En 1988, Germany had succeeded in the Netherlands. In the Volksparkstadion in Hamburg, Gullit, Van Basten, Koeman and theirs were crowned with the only European coronation in Dutch history. Will Germany succeed again at the Oranje this year? After an elimination in the round of 16 against the Czech Republic during the last edition and a non-qualification in 2016, they will in any case be keen to redeem themselves.
This Sunday, it is Poland which will be the first to put themselves on the path of Ronald Koeman, now on the sidelines, and his men. In any case, we should not underestimate the Poles even if Lewandowski (who will not be present this afternoon, injured in the thigh) and his team qualified by the cat of the needle. Poland finished in 3rd position in its qualifying group, behind Albania and Czechia and only one small unit ahead of Moldova against whom Michal Probierz’s men took only one point out of six.
The Dutch, for their part, are attacking the Euro with memories of the past but also with a good qualifying phase. They conceded two defeats against France, of course, but won their 6 other matches.
Highlights of the meeting:
The Oranje put the pressure on from the start of the match. After a little over a minute of play, a cross found Gakpo at the near post, the Liverpool player got in on his right foot before striking but Szczęsny lay down perfectly.
New great possibility for the Dutch in the 9th minute. Veerman found his midfield sidekick, Schouten in the large Polish rectangle. The latter followed quickly and found Reijnders at the penalty spot. The AC Milan player shot in time but the ball went just wide.
A corner from Zielinski found Buksa’s head in the small rectangle after 16 minutes of play. He sent the ball into the back of the net (1-0).
The Oranje were not far from responding 2 minutes later with another corner kick. Van Dijk was alerted at the small rectangle and volleyed again but Szczęsny was still on the trajectory. So many opportunities for the Dutch. In the 20th, Reijnders found Simons in the big rectangle, he hopefully put the ball back to Memphis. The center forward tried a too powerful shot which flew over the target.
The Oranje pushed and managed to come back. Shortly before the half-hour mark, Aké recovered a Polish recovery and served Gakpo who seized the ball and struck from the edge of the rectangle. His shot, deflected, deceived Szczęsny (1-1).
Gakpo came very close to allowing the Netherlands to take the lead in the 41st minute. Aké was found deep in the large Polish rectangle. He crossed back for Gakpo who sent a shot that was too quick. Another very big possibility for the Netherlands just before the break. A long ball from Aké found Memphis in the big rectangle, the ex-OL player followed up quickly but his shot was going to die right next to Szczęsny’s post.
After 13 minutes in the second half, the Oranje launched a lightning-fast counterattack. Gakpo was found in depth, he took a few meters before serving Simons but his shot was too quick. It was the Poles who created a chance after 58 minutes of play. After good work from Zalewski on the left flank, he sent a cross towards Kiwior, completely isolated, but Verbruggen intervened.
The essays :
Poland: Szczęsny, Bednarek, Salamon, Kiwior, Frankowski, Szymanski, Romanczuk, Zielinski, Urbanski, Zalewski, Buksa
The Netherlands : Verbruggen, Van Dijk, Aké, De Vrij, Simons, Memphis, Gakpo, Reijnders, Veerman, Dumfries, Schouten
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