PRESENT AND POTENTIAL FUTURE LIVERPOOL STARS GIVE IMPRESSIVE DUTCH THEIR SPARK

OF ALL the sides on the so-called ‘weak’ side of the draw, the Netherlands arguably look best placed to reach the final.

Despite finishing third in their group, the Dutch did have the good fortune to come up against one of the worst sides in the round of 16 in Romania.

Edward Iordănescu’s men needed only one win to progress to the knockout stages and were in one of the competition’s weakest groups, alongside Belgium, Slovakia and Ukraine, with all those evenly matched teams finishing on four points.

Yet the Dutch convincingly went about their business — their dominance was as comprehensive as the 3-0 scoreline suggests, with Ronald Koeman’s side missing a couple of glaring chances to put an even greater gloss on the outcome.

There were a few positive attacking moments near the start of the match, but otherwise, the Romanians scarcely threatened their opponents.

The Netherlands now face a quarter-final against either Austria or Turkey, with one of England or Switzerland awaiting them in the semis.

Judging by how they played today, they must fancy their chances of getting to the final and they look at least as strong as any of the sides they could face over the next game or two.

Of course, their one loss in the competition came against Austria, but how much you can read into that fixture is debatable — the Dutch were already assured of qualification and left a couple of important players on the bench.

Before the start of the tournament, most people would agree that the Netherlands’ defensive options are up there with any side in the world.

Virgil van Dijk and Nathan Ake have been two of the best defenders in the Premier League in recent times, and the same can be said of Denzel Dumfries and Stefan de Vrij concerning Serie A.

They even have the luxury of keeping Micky van de Ven — Tottenham’s Player of the Season last year — on the bench.

But the main issue that has stopped people from tipping the Netherlands to triumph is down the other end of the pitch.

At the last World Cup, the team hugely relied on Wout Weghorst — a 31-year-old striker who struggled to make an impact in the Premier League with Burnley and Man United.

And the same can be said in this Euros to a degree — Weghorst came off the bench to score a late winner in their opening clash against Poland.

Yet the form of two other attacking players suggests they have the potential to go deep in this competition and the depth in the final third to complement their outstanding backline.

Cody Gakpo was sensational at times this evening. He took his opener brilliantly, showing good skill to evade his marker and fire into the corner of the net, even if he was aided by bad goalkeeping and the defender ill-advisedly showing him onto his right side.

Maybe even more impressive was his role in the second goal, showing unbelievable skill to keep the ball in play at the byline while wriggling away from his marker before setting up substitute Donyell Malen to all but ensure their progress to the last eight.

For a player of his talent, Gakpo has had a slightly disappointing time in his two seasons at Liverpool.

The ex-PSV player did make 35 Premier League appearances last year, but 18 were off the bench and he was withdrawn on 14 occasions while finishing the campaign with a modest enough (by his standards) eight goals and five assists.

Yet Gakpo is set for a fresh start under new boss Arne Slot. And his fellow countryman will be optimistic about getting the best out of the 25-year-old based on how he has been playing at these Euros — Gakpo is currently the tournament’s joint top scorer with three goals.

Similarly eye-catching was the performance of Xavi Simons.

The attacking midfielder created the assist for Gakpo’s opening goal and was generally a thorn in the side of the Romanians playing in the number 10 role.

Crucially, he had the grit to match the flair — his rabona in the first half might be more likely to show up on YouTube compilations but how he set up the final goal was more impressive, having the hunger to win a 50:50 tackle in the dying seconds before sending Malen on his way to score.

Simons linked brilliantly with Gakpo throughout and the duo may also soon be wearing the same colours at club level.

The 21-year-old has been strongly linked with Liverpool among other top teams and has said he will wait until after the Euros to decide on his future.

Simons is currently in his second spell at PSG but has barely got a look in, making seven appearances in Ligue 1 for the star-studded reigning French champions.

They sold him to PSV in 2022 but his sole season in the Eredivisie was so impressive that the French side capitalised on a reported €6 million buy-back clause in his PSV contract.

He still has three years left on his current deal, but spent last season on loan in Germany, registering 10 goals and 15 assists in 43 matches for RB Leipzig.

So Simons’ future remains uncertain but he will have no shortage of suitors if he continues to light up these Euros.

And significantly, he was left out of the starting XI for the 3-2 group-stages loss to Austria, with the Dutch looking far more fluid and cohesive following his return today.

Along with Gakpo, he might be the difference-maker to avoid a second succesive loss if they do come up against Ralf Ragnick’s men again on Saturday.

2024-07-02T19:56:05Z dg43tfdfdgfd