Here’s Paul MacInnes’s report from Munich
Worth noting that the Romanian goalie kicked away one of those trainers as Malen slalomed past the other to score his second goal. Very odd scenes.
Cody Gakpo speaks to the Uefa on-pitch interviewer, a Scottish gentleman: “We played a good game and showed a good reaction from the last one. We are very pleased. We needed a reaction and this was a step in the right direction. We talked a lot about aggression and intensity. The physio told me last night I would score and I ran over to him. Happy I could assist Donny with his goal, and a good game overall.”
Real skill and composure in that final goal from Malen, especially with an unwanted pair of trainers on the field.
Donyell Malen had to avoid a pair of trainers on the pitch as he showed ice-cold composure to put the Netherlands 3-0 up 🤣👟 pic.twitter.com/Q2bLY6Zwjn
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) July 2, 2024
Full time: Romania 0-3 Netherlands
The Netherlands advance to the quarter-finals, while Romania go home. It was an emphatic win for the Dutch in the end but they were still sweating as the game entered its final seven minutes, just before they scored their second goal.
GOAL! Romania 0-3 Netherlands (Malen 90+3)
Malen scores again! The Netherlands break upfield with Malen on the ball. He chops inside two chasing defenders on the edge of the Romania penalty area and pulls a low shot into the bottom left-hand corner. It’s full time in Munich.
90+1 min: We’ll have four minutes of added time and but for his side’s at times astonishing wastefulness in front of goal, one imagines Ronald Koeman will be very pleased with this performance. They famously won this tournament in Germany in 1988 and a repeat of that victory is well within the realms of possibility.
89 min: Barring a late miracle, Romania are going to go out of this tournament but can do so with the collective head held high. They’ve really given it a right good go in this tournament and were just one kick of a ball away from equalising in this match until six minutes ago.
86 min: Wout Weghorst is on for the Netherlands. Gakpo makes way after another good performance. He’s joint top of the official Euro 2024 Golden Boot standings with three but will have to go some to catch up with Own Goals, who are disappearing over the horizon with nine.
GOAL! Romania 0-2 Netherlands (Malen 83)
The Netherlands doubnle their lead. Gakpo ferrets his way along the byline, with Dragusin on his case. The defender thinks the ball’s gone out of play and relaxes slightly, but it hasn’t. Gakpo pulls it back to Malen, who prods home from the edge of the six-yard box.
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82 min: Now Romania try to break upfield but Alibec is very harshly penalised for a high boot and a promising attack breaks down. Stanciu gets booked for his very justified complaint. And finally, the Netherlands get their second goal …
81 min: The Netherlands break upfield with Malen on the ball. He plays a rubbish pass out to Gakpo, who has to pause his run to control the ball. He eventually sorts his feet out and unleashes a shot that is heroically blocked.
80 min: Denzil Dumfries has been booked for time-wasting.
78 min: Dragusin rides to the rescue for Romania, leaping to deny Depay a good chance in the air. The lesser-spotted Tottenham January signing has been outstanding today.
76 min: Joey Veerman becomes the latest Dutchman to miss a decent chance, rolling a low shot just wide of the far post. I’m surprised to see him back on the pitch considering how critical his coach was of him after the Netherlands’ defeat at the hands of Aiustria. Ronald Koeman isn’t backwards in coming forwards when it comes to publicly pointing his Big Finger of Blame.
71 min: Some substitutions to tell you about. Joey Veerman and Micky van de Ven are on for the Netherlands, with Schouten and Ake making way. Alexandru Cicaldau, Denis Alibec and Valentin Mihaila are on for Romania. Hagi, Dragus and Marin head for the bench.
70 min: Marin was booked for the shove on Xavi Simons which led to that free-kick. He’ll miss the next game if Romania can somehow win this game.
69 min: With no Romania draught excluder in place at a free-kick, Memphis Depay sends a free-kick under thge leaping defensive wall. Nice try but not today. Wide.
66 min: Ake flicked a cross forward and Gakpo reacted quickjly to roof the ball from close range. He was clearly offside.
VAR! Gakpo's effort is ruled out
It’s as you were. Romania dodge the latest in a hail of Dutch bullets. It’s like the apartment scene in Pulp Fiction.
GOAL! Romania 0-2 Netherlands (Gakpo 63)
Finally! Moments after having a shot saved superbly by Nita, Cody Gakpo scores his fourth goal of this tournament but there’s a check for offside.
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61 min: Moments after that goalmouth scramble, in which Racovitzan also hooked a shot off the line, Donyell Malen missed a good opportunity to increase the Netherlands’ lead. He didn’t cover himself in glory in the their last game and has just incurred his manager’s wrath again.
60 min: Romania win a corner and the ball is played short(ish) to Haji. His whipped cross is put out for another corner by Dumfries and Virgil clears the next inswinger.
58 min: Virgil van Dijk knocks a downward header from a corner against the upright and the ball goes wide. The Dutch are really struggling to score the second goal that would alkmost certainly put this game to bed.
56 min: Reijnders pulls a shot from distance wide. I need to see a replay of that goalmouth scramble – it looked like the Netherlands were peppering the Romania goal and I’m not quite sure how they didn’t score.
54 min: Dumfries runs on to a ball in behind down the inside right and pulls the ball back into the Romania penalty area.Depay is about to bury it but Andre Ratiu stops him with a brilliant last-ditch tackle. There’s a bit of a scramble but the ball somehow ends up in the grasp of Romania goalkeeper Florin Nita. The Netherlands could pay dearly for this profligacy of theirs in front of goal.
51 min: The Yellow Sea parts as Reijnders goes on a slaloming run upfield. The Dutch midfielder unleashes a low shot and Bogdan Racovitzan flings himself in the way of it. The ball hits his elbow but his arm was well tucked in by his side. Dutch cries for a penalty fall on deaf ears. The handball law is already crazy but if that had been given, the game would officially be gone to hell in a handcart.
47 min: De Vrij is sold short by a terrible pass from a team-mate and fouls Stanciu as he lunges for the ball. Free-kick for Romania, wide on the left. Stanciu whips the ball into the mixer but Burca can’t quite get his head to it.
46 min: The Dutch have made a change, bringing on Donyell Malen for Steven Bergwijn, who I thought was excellent in the first half. He might be injured. It’s a like for like swap.
Second half: Romania 0-1 Netherlands
46 min: Play resumes with Romania kicking off.
Half-time: Romania 0-1 Netherlands
The Dutch go in at the break with a one-goal lead and should really be further ahead. They’ve been all over Romania since scoring their goal and Edward Iordanescu has a big job to do in the next 15 minutes if his side are to turn this game around.
45+2 min: Dennis Man unleashes a shot towards the Dutch goal from distance after good work by Hagi, who had pounced on a Van Dijk error. It’s straight at Bart Verbruggen.
45+1 min: That was a wonderful chance for the Dutch to double their lead. If Dumfries had rolled a more gentle pass into the path of Simons, the winger could have buried the ball past Nita without hesitation.
44 min: Oh Xavi!!!! While trying to shepherd the ball out of play, Racovitzah is robbed by Dumfries, who plays the ball to Simons in acres of space in the Romania penalty area. There’s a bit too much zip on the pass and by the time Simons has the ball fully under control, he’s swarmed by defenders and can only send a feeble shot wide of the far upright. Romania dodge another bullet.
42 min: The Dutch win their 10th corner of the game but Memphis Depay sends this one sailing out of play with a half-decent effort to curl the ball straight into the Romania goal. He’d spotted Nita off his line and tried to catch out the Romania goalkeeper.
41 min: The Netherlands continue to send cross after cross after cross into the Romania penalty area, which the men in yellow are defendingh fairly desperately. They deserve immense credit for digging in but another goal could really knock the stuffing out of them and lead to a rout.
39 min: The substitute is immediately spun by Memphis Depay, who picks out Simons at the byline. His rabona pull-back is put out for another Dutch corner, which the PSG man takes. Romania clear again.
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37 min: Already without their suspended first choice left-back, Nicusor Bancu, Romania lose his replacement. Bogdan Racovitzan comes on and slots in at centre-back, with Andrei Burca moving to left-back.
34 min: A good Gakpo cross into the Romania penalty area is headed clear, then Ianis Hagi helps the ball upfield. Romania are currently down to 10 men, with their left-back Vasile Mogos off the field getting treatment for an injury. Hagi is deputising for him at the moment.
31 min: A brilliant low ball squared towards Depay by Dumfries is crucially cut out by Dragusin, who was facing his own goal and could have diverted the ball into his own gaping goal. It’s excellent defending and he gets away with conceding a corner. Romania clear their lines again but they’re on the ropes.
30 min: Dumfries is picked out by Tijani Reijnders with a good ball down the right. His low cross into the Romania penalty area is put out for another corner. Nothing comes of it but that early goal has clearly settled early Dutch nerves. Ronald Koeman’s team are very much in the ascendency now.
28 min: Bergwijn wins a free-kick for the Dutch out by the right touchline, drawing the foul from Dennis Dragus. Depay’s delivery into the Romania penalty area is cleared.
26 min: Netherlands corner. A completely unmarked Stefan De Vrij gets a free downward header at the far post but sends his effort into the side-netting. It’s a let-off for Romania.
24 min: While it might be a stretch to say that goal came against the run of play, Romania were doing very well before that setback. They react well, with Dennis Man running on to a ball squared his way by Hagi but sending his shot across the face of goal wide under presuure from Stefan De Vrij, who’d tracked his run.
21 min: It may be an unhappy birthday for Florin Nita tomorrow, as it looks like he should have done better. He left a small gap between himself and his near post as Gakpo cut inside Andre Ratiu and the Dutch winger took full advantage. Perhaps the goalkeeper wasn’t expecting him to shoot so quickly.
GOAL! Romania 0-1 Netherlands (Gakpo 20)
The Netherlands lead! Cody Gakpo puts them ahead with a fine strike, cutting inside a Romanian defender from the left and beating Florin Nita at his near post.
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18 min: The Netherlands play a diagonal over the top of Romania’s high defensive line and Simons wins a corner. On this occasion, Depay’s delivery isn’t up to much and the ball is cleared by Dennis Dragus.
17 min: Netherlands corner, won by Denzel Dumfries. Depay’s delivery is excellent and the Netherlands win another corner. This one is met by Nathan Ake, who can’t steer his header goalwards.
15 min: Man on! Dennis Man, specifically. He dribbles in from the right and sends a shot flashing across the face of goal that whistles just over the bar. That was an excellent effort by the Romanian winger and he had Bart Vergruggen beaten.
12 min: The Netherlands string a few passes together and Xavi Simons plays a beautifully weighted pass in behind from the edge of the Romania penalty area for Memphis Depay to run on to. Nita is quick off his line to deny the Dutch striker as he tried to lift the ball over him. Offside, but not by much.
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11 min: Romania are giving the Netherlands plenty to think about in these early stages and are pinning them back deep in their own half. The Dutch are struggling to get the ball upfield.
9 min: Virgil van Dijk gets across to cut out a cross from Andre Ratiu, whose dyed blue hair makes him particularly conspicuous. Throw-in for Romania, deep in the Netherlands half of the pitch.
8 min: Pedants corner: Xavi Simons is, of course, a PSG player, who spent last season on loan at Leipzig. Apologies, it’s been a long couple of weeks.
6 min: Van Dijk picks out Simons with a ball down the left. The RB Leipzig winger cuts inside and has a pop and his shot takes a little deflection off Andre Ratiu. before sailing into the arms of Romania goalkeeper Florin Nita, who turns 37 tomorrow. Happy birthday to him.
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4 min: There’s a break in play as Ianis Hagi has a cut tended to. I think he shipped an accidental elbow to the head from Dumfries while trying to get on the end of that cross.
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2 min: The Netherlands play it out from the back with assorted Romanians yapping at the ankles of the defenders. They win the ball and Razvan Marin sends a wonderful cross into the Dutch penalty area, which Denzel Dumfries clears with his head.
Romania v Netherlands is go ...
1 min: Having triumphed in the anthems (other opinions are available), the crowd (the Dutch look seriously outnumbered) and the coin-toss, Romania set about trying to make it four victories out of four by winning the match. Their players are in yellow, while those of the Netherlands wear blue with orange trim.
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Not long now: Referee Felix Zwayer and his match officials lead out the teams in Munich and both sets of players line up for the national anthems. Kick-off in a very intriguing match-up is just a few minutes away.
An email: “With Denzel back in the starting lineup, the Dutch are good for Equalizers 1, 2, and 3, if needed,” writes Peter Oh. It could be a long evening …
Those teams: Ronald Koeman makes three changes to the side that started against Austria. Xavi Simons, Denzel Dumfries and Steven Bergwijn come into the Dutch team, with Joey Veerman, Donyell Malen and Lutsharel Geertruida dropping to the bench.
There are two changes for Romania. Vasile Mogos comes in for the suspended Nicusor Bancu and Florinel Coman makes way for Parma winger Dennis Man.
Netherlands: There has been a lot of soul-searching in the Dutch camp following their often lacklustre performances in the group stages, writes Paul MacInnes in Munich.
Romania v Netherlands line-ups
Romania: Nita, Ratiu, Dragusin, Burca, Mogos, Marius Marin, Man, Razvan Marin, Stanciu, Hagi, Dragus.
Subs: Rus, Nedelcearu, Alibec, Cicaldau, Puscas, Moldovan, Mihaila, Olaru, Tarnovanu, Sorescu, Racovitan, Birligea, Sut.
Netherlands: Verbruggen, Dumfries, de Vrij, van Dijk, Ake, Schouten, Reijnders, Bergwijn, Simons, Gakpo, Depay.
Subs: Geertruida, de Ligt, Wijnaldum, Weghorst, Frimpong, Bijlow, Van de Ven, Veerman, Blind, Brobbey, Maatsen, Zirkzee, Flekken, Gravenberch, Malen.
Today’s match officials
Referee: Felix Zwayer
Referee’s assistants: Stefan Lupp and Marco Achmuller
Fourth official: Daniel Siebert
Video assistant referee: Bastian Dankert
Early team news
Romania manager Edward Iordanescu is without Nicusor Bancu, who is suspended after picking up two yellow cards in the group stage. The left-back is expected to be rerplaced by one of Vasile Mogos or Deian Sorescu.
Netherlands coach Ronald Koeman has a full squad to choose from and could make a few changes after his side’s defeat at the hands of Austria, in which midfielder Joey Veerman was withdrawn for tactical reasons after 35 minutes.
Round of 16: Romania v Netherlands
The surprise winners of a group also containing Slovakia, Belgium and Ukraine, Romania’s reward is an appointment with the Netherlands in Munich this evening. It’s their first time in the knockout stages of a majort tournament in 24 years and they have only won one such eliminator – a last-16 victory over Argerntina at USA 94 ) – in their entire history.
The Netherlands are trying to end a run of four consecutive defeats in the knockout stages of the Euros but have not been at their best thus far in this tournament. It’s a match that could go either way and kick-off in Munich is at 5pm (BST).
