The history of the Dutch football team was written way back in 1988 in one of the most famous moments at the European championships - then the Soviet Union was defeated at the Olympic Stadium in Munich in the Euro final, and that duel for the title is still remembered today for Mark van Basten's goal, one of the most beautiful in football history.
The first association with a hardened goal scorer like Van Basten is that goal when he caught a volley from the first corner and sent the ball into the far corner of the Soviet goalkeeper Rinat Dasaev, and it is even more elevated by the fact that the Dutch did not reach the cup either before or after such mastery at major competitions.
They have three finals at the world championships, and when it comes to the championships of the Old Continent, after the exploits of 1988, the ultimate reach of "Lala" was the semi-finals - in 1992, and in 2000 and 2004.
And how realistic is it that "plowing" right now in Germany repeats what was done in the same place 36 years ago by the generation with Van Basten, Rudo Gulita (he was also the scorer in the final - 2:0), Frank Rijkaard, Ronald Koeman ...?
This time, the Netherlands is not even an obvious favorite to go to the knockout phase - it is without a doubt France, while Poland and Austria are given the same chances for placement as Ronald Koeman's chosen ones.
Of course, the forecasts are not accidental - the Netherlands is not a force, it is no longer as dominant in the "production" of talents as it was before, so the big question is whether Kuman's team can break out of mediocrity at this very Euro.
An additional problem is injuries - only a few days before the European Championship, Frenkie de Jong, the most important screw in the midfield, was dropped from the list, as well as the great Teun Kopmeiners from Atalanta, who was injured during the warm-up.
The call-up to Bologna's super-talented striker Joshua Zirkze did make the nation happy, but the problems in the midfield, caused by absences, are unlikely to be remedied.
At the last EP, the Netherlands was eliminated in the round of 16 by the Czech Republic, after which Ronald de Boer was succeeded on the bench by Louis van Gaal. With him, the national team looked better, and at the World Cup in Qatar, it reached the quarter-finals - it was defeated by Argentina, later world champions, on penalties. After Qatar, a new change followed, Koeman took over the national team for the second time and passed the qualifying group without major problems - the Netherlands was second with six wins and two losses, both against the French...
Koeman announced the final Euro squad last week and wrote off the injured Marten de Ron from Atalanta, as well as Borussia Dortmund's excellent left-back Jan Matsen. The leaders are Virgil van Dijk, Frenkie de Jong (still recovering from injury) and Memphis Depay, and Koeman relies on the improvement of Xavi Simmons and Jeremy Frimpong, as well as Teun Kopmeiners, Cody Gakpo...
The Dutch open the Euro on June 16 against Poland in Hamburg, four days later there is a derby with France in Leipzig, while they close the group on June 25 in Berlin against Austria.
Probable composition: Ferbruggen - De Licht, Van Dijk, Ake - Dumfries, Rayners, Blind, Shauten - Simmons, Depay - Gakpo.
The Netherlands and the Euro
It performs so far: 10
The greatest success: Champion 1988
The last Euro: EP 2020, round of XNUMX
Most performances on the EP: Edwin van der Sar (16)
Most goals in the EP: Patrik Kluivert, Ruud van Nistelrooy (6)
Captain: Virgil van Dyck
The first star: Virgil van Dyck
Matches at the EP: Poland (June 16, Hamburg), France (June 21, Leipzig), Austria (June 25, Berlin)
See more:
Download the app and follow the news
FOLLOW US ON
