After the 3-1 victory over Poland, coach Ralf Rangnick once declared: ” Austria can win against the Netherlands to take first place.” Although they lost to the Netherlands in 7 previous encounters, Austria is excited as they are very close to the next ticket, while the Netherlands faces many problems.
Coach Rangnick has proven: he does not talk nonsense! The Austrian team entered the game very impressively, not hesitating to push the team to аttаck the Netherlands directly. The speed of the two wings with Patrick Wimmer, Marko Arnautovic and Alexander Prass helped Austria advance the ball quickly and neatly and many times close to the Dutch goal.
Austria soon opened the score
AFP
Right in the 6th minute, Rangnick’s team opened the score. Prass escaped very quickly on the left wing and then crossed inside. In the situation of dropping back to support the defense, wing striker Donyell Malen clumsily stretched his legs and sent the ball… straight into his own net to the surprise of his teammates.
Austria’s playing style based on the ability to close and win the ball and organize quick attacks stifled the Dutch midfield. The deadlock of the “Orange Cyclone” was shown when coach Ronald Koeman had to make a substitution midway through the first half, taking Joel Veerman off the field to give young talent Xavi Simons a chance.
The second half of the first half saw the Netherlands regain the game, but the orange shirt team still had a hard time getting on the ball when Memphis Depay or Cody Gakpo were both tightly marked, with no space to maneuver.
In terms of the number of dangerous ball situations, Austria is even better even though it no longer maintains the same pace as in the first 20 minutes. Marcel Sabitzer, former Manchester United star, is one of the most prominent players with the ability to keep pace and coordinate comprehensively. In the 38th minute, Sabitzer swung his leg dangerously outside the penalty area, but goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen controlled the situation.
After the break, the Netherlands changed their figҺting methods, focusing more on “quick” counter-аttаck situations.
The Netherlands (orange shirt) fought hard
AFP
In the 47th minute, Koeman’s team equalized in a style of play that should be… Austria’s forte. From a quick dispute to win the ball, the Netherlands counterattacked, before Gakpo dribbled the ball on the left wing, turned in and curled the ball beautifully at a speed of 107 km/h to equalize the score at 1-1.
But when the attackers could not score more goals, the Dutch defense continued to make mistakes. In the 59th minute, coach Koeman’s students let Romano Schmid jump high and Һit a dangerous header into the net even though the Dutch goalkeeper and defender both tried to block it, helping Austria rise for the second time.
The Dutch team did not give up. Koeman’s team found a 2-2 equalizer in the 75th minute, and once again Wout Weghorst played the role of “red chicken”. Immediately after being put on the field, Weghorst proved his influence with a high jump and a header that created an opportunity for Depay to have the ball in the penalty area. The Dutch striker caught the ball very neatly with his chest and then decisively stretched his back to score his first goal at EURO 2024.
However, the drаmа of the score chase does not stop here. In the 80th minute, Sabitzer marked a brilliant day by running wisely to break the offside trap, before kicking the roof of goalkeeper Verbruggen’s net with a decisive strike, putting Austria up 3-2.
This time, there was no longer a chance to equalize for the Netherlands. The Austrian team defended tightly to preserve a valuable victory, despite being suffocated in the final minutes.
Knocking out the Netherlands, Austria passed Group D with 6 points and took first place, while France (5 points) and the Netherlands (4 points) ranked second. Coach Rangnick and his team promise to become a “dark horse” at EURO 2024.