Euro 2008 - Day 7: The Oranje Machine Steamrolls Les Bleus with a 4-1 Win
June 13th 2008 21:52
It was the perfect game... for the winning team. The underrated Dutch team completely slaughtered the French who didn't know what hit them. Four days after humiliating Italy, the Netherlands offered an electrifying performance with four goals from four different players.
The Netherlands didn't waste time to get on the scoring sheet. At the 9th minute, Rafael van der Vaart striked a corner in the 18-yard box where Dirk Kuyt headed the ball in the back of the net despite Malouda's tight marking. The rest of the first half was uneventful as both teams shared equal possession of the ball. Franck Ribéry and Sidney Govou tried their best to break down the Dutch defense to no avail. The French were down 1-0 at half time and Thierry Henry was almost invisible during that half due to some nice defensive work by the Dutch.
Marco Van Basten made his first substitution right before the second half, putting Arjen Robben in Orlando Engelaar's place. The change brought a lot more speed to the Netherlands' attacks, making them a lot quicker to get down the field once in possession. Ten minutes after the second half began, Robin van Persie replaced Dirk Kuyt. The change brought fresher legs to the Netherlands' flanks, tiring in the process the older legs of Willy Sagnol and William Gallas. The impact of both substitutions was immediate as Robben found himself leading a counterattack after a nice move from Van Nistelrooy. Robben crossed the ball to Van Persie who semi-volleyed it past Coupet for the Netherlands' second goal.
The French proceeded to their first substitution after that goal in order to get more offense. Florent Malouda – who was practically useless – left his place to sriker Bafetimbi Gomis. That change allowed Henry to drift a little bit to the left with the possibility of cutting through middle while Gomis and Govou stayed out front. Ribéry was also allowed more movement as he played practically everywhere on the field. Consequently, the French reduced the score to 2-1 after Ribéry made a nice through pass to Henry who lightly brushed the ball past goalkeeper Van der Sar. France's joy was shortlived however, as Arjen Robben flew down the left flank and beat Coupet with a shot, giving back the two-goal lead to his team right after the kick-off. The cameras lingered long enough on the French faces to catch William Gallas muttering “C'est pas possible.” But possible it was. In a last ditch effort to save France from humiliation, Domenech replaced Govou by Anelka. It was a bad change, if you ask me. Govou was one of the best players on the field, giving France the spark that they were lacking against Romania, while Anelka hasn't really done much to be considered as an impact forward. Anyways, it was the Netherlands who scored the next goal in the second minute of extra-time. Indeed, Wesley Sneijer put the icing on the cake with a superb shot right at the edge of the box that hit the crossbar before going into the net. Absolutely sublime.
Although many will admire the offensive prowess of the Dutch, their defensive effort shouldn't be forgotten as André Ooijer, Giovanni Van Bronckhorst, Khalid Boulahrouz, Rafael Van Der Vaart, and Wesley Sneijder, all constantly frustrated the French with perfectly clean tackles all match long. Edwin Van Der Sar was also excellent in front of the net and had no chance of France's lone goal.
With two games played, the Netherlands are the first team to qualify in the group of death. France and Italy have the same number of points and goal difference. They will have to duke it out in the final for a chance at having the second spot. That spot may not be guaranteed anyway though, because if Romania wins against Netherlands (who will probably align their B team for the last game and rest key players), the Romanians will be the ones going through to the second round. That's some pretty exciting stuff.
My man of the match: Arjen Robben. Although all the Dutch players played a perfect game, he had the most impact, coming on as a substitute and scoring the Netherlands' third goal as well as assisting on the second goal.
Honorable mentions:
- Dirk Kuyt. The hard working midfielder/forward was his same tenacious self and scored his team's first goal.
- Wesley Sneijder. The midfielder had an excellent game defensively as well as offensively. He was truly the leader of the midfield.
- Ruud Van Nistelrooy. Although he hasn't scored, the striker performed an excellent move which led to his team's second goal and was a constant threat to the French defense.
- Khalid Boulahrouz. He almost singlehandedly stopped all the French attacks coming from the right flank with numerous clean tackles.
The Netherlands didn't waste time to get on the scoring sheet. At the 9th minute, Rafael van der Vaart striked a corner in the 18-yard box where Dirk Kuyt headed the ball in the back of the net despite Malouda's tight marking. The rest of the first half was uneventful as both teams shared equal possession of the ball. Franck Ribéry and Sidney Govou tried their best to break down the Dutch defense to no avail. The French were down 1-0 at half time and Thierry Henry was almost invisible during that half due to some nice defensive work by the Dutch.
Marco Van Basten made his first substitution right before the second half, putting Arjen Robben in Orlando Engelaar's place. The change brought a lot more speed to the Netherlands' attacks, making them a lot quicker to get down the field once in possession. Ten minutes after the second half began, Robin van Persie replaced Dirk Kuyt. The change brought fresher legs to the Netherlands' flanks, tiring in the process the older legs of Willy Sagnol and William Gallas. The impact of both substitutions was immediate as Robben found himself leading a counterattack after a nice move from Van Nistelrooy. Robben crossed the ball to Van Persie who semi-volleyed it past Coupet for the Netherlands' second goal.
The French proceeded to their first substitution after that goal in order to get more offense. Florent Malouda – who was practically useless – left his place to sriker Bafetimbi Gomis. That change allowed Henry to drift a little bit to the left with the possibility of cutting through middle while Gomis and Govou stayed out front. Ribéry was also allowed more movement as he played practically everywhere on the field. Consequently, the French reduced the score to 2-1 after Ribéry made a nice through pass to Henry who lightly brushed the ball past goalkeeper Van der Sar. France's joy was shortlived however, as Arjen Robben flew down the left flank and beat Coupet with a shot, giving back the two-goal lead to his team right after the kick-off. The cameras lingered long enough on the French faces to catch William Gallas muttering “C'est pas possible.” But possible it was. In a last ditch effort to save France from humiliation, Domenech replaced Govou by Anelka. It was a bad change, if you ask me. Govou was one of the best players on the field, giving France the spark that they were lacking against Romania, while Anelka hasn't really done much to be considered as an impact forward. Anyways, it was the Netherlands who scored the next goal in the second minute of extra-time. Indeed, Wesley Sneijer put the icing on the cake with a superb shot right at the edge of the box that hit the crossbar before going into the net. Absolutely sublime.
Although many will admire the offensive prowess of the Dutch, their defensive effort shouldn't be forgotten as André Ooijer, Giovanni Van Bronckhorst, Khalid Boulahrouz, Rafael Van Der Vaart, and Wesley Sneijder, all constantly frustrated the French with perfectly clean tackles all match long. Edwin Van Der Sar was also excellent in front of the net and had no chance of France's lone goal.
With two games played, the Netherlands are the first team to qualify in the group of death. France and Italy have the same number of points and goal difference. They will have to duke it out in the final for a chance at having the second spot. That spot may not be guaranteed anyway though, because if Romania wins against Netherlands (who will probably align their B team for the last game and rest key players), the Romanians will be the ones going through to the second round. That's some pretty exciting stuff.
My man of the match: Arjen Robben. Although all the Dutch players played a perfect game, he had the most impact, coming on as a substitute and scoring the Netherlands' third goal as well as assisting on the second goal.
Honorable mentions:
- Dirk Kuyt. The hard working midfielder/forward was his same tenacious self and scored his team's first goal.
- Wesley Sneijder. The midfielder had an excellent game defensively as well as offensively. He was truly the leader of the midfield.
- Ruud Van Nistelrooy. Although he hasn't scored, the striker performed an excellent move which led to his team's second goal and was a constant threat to the French defense.
- Khalid Boulahrouz. He almost singlehandedly stopped all the French attacks coming from the right flank with numerous clean tackles.
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