Three matches - three triumphs and nine points is the balance of the Dutch national team at this year's European Championship. At the "Johan Cruyff" arena in Amsterdam, the Dutch defeated Ukraine (3:2), Austria (2:0) and North Macedonia (3:0), won the first place in group C and provided an easier opponent in the round of XNUMX. And their opponent will be one of the four best third-placed selections.
The Netherlands has played very well in the previous part of the tournament. They are efficient in attack, they play attractively, but in the first match against Ukraine, they showed that they are vulnerable when the opponent goes on the counter. In that match, they were much better on the field, had a two-goal advantage, but they allowed the Ukrainians to return to the match and equalize. However, by the end of the game, Frank de Boer's team scored the third goal, and three points were brought by Denzel Dumfries, for whom it was the first goal in the national team jersey.
Denzel Dumfries plays at right back and is perhaps the biggest discovery of the tournament so far. He scored two goals (besides against Ukraine, he was also among the scorers against Austria), forced a penalty against the Austrians and constantly participated in the offensive actions of "lala". He is always in the opponent's penalty area, and if he had been a little more lucky, his goalscoring performance in the previous part of the championship would have been much better.
Since 2018, he has been a PSV player. He is 25 years old, and until the age of 18 he built his career in Dutch amateur clubs. In 2014, he moved from amateur Barendrecht to professional waters - he went to Sparta from Rotterdam, with whom he won a place in the first Dutch league two years later. In the year that the team from Rotterdam entered the first division, Dumfries was voted the best young player in the second division.
After Sparta, he played in Heerenveen for a year, and then went to PSV. In the 2018/2019 season. he was part of the ideal team of the Dutch championship. He signed a five-year contract with the team from Eindhoven, and in 2018 he received an invitation to the Dutch national team. He made his debut for Ronald Koeman against Germany on October 13, 2018 in the Nations League.
He played 22 matches in the "lala" jersey, but before his debut he also made two appearances for the Aruba national team.
Now he is undisputed in the position of right back in the Dutch national team. The player - idolized by Clarence Sedorf, Edgar Davids and Dirk Kejt - fits perfectly into De Boer's 5-3-2 formation. With attacking full-backs like Dumfries, the "lala" game transforms into an attacking 3-5-2 system during matches. In such a system, Denzel Dumfries has enough freedom to move forward and try to threaten the rival's goal.
And that's what he did well at the previous European Championship.
Bonus video:
