Malen brace sends Dutch into Euro last eight with Romania win
The team burst back into form with a lively display in a 3-0 victory in their last-16 fixture
Netherlands’ Cody Gakpo scored his third goal of the European Championship and Donyell Malen added two more late on as the Dutch burst back into form with a lively display to defeat Romania 3-0 in their last-16 fixture on Tuesday.
They had been lambasted by their media and fans for a poor defensive display in their final group game, a 3-2 loss to Austria, but were more composed and in control as they reach the Euro quarterfinals for the first time since 2008.
They took the lead after 20 minutes when Gakpo drilled a low-angled shot home at goalkeeper Florin Nita’s near post before Malen’s late double helped set up a quarterfinal with Austria or Turkey, who play later on Tuesday, in Berlin on Saturday.
The Netherlands had two-thirds of possession and almost five times more chances in the game to underline their superiority as Virgil van Dijk struck the post with a header and Gakpo had a second effort ruled out for offside.
Reuters