Netherlands vs Czech Republic

Finally, after two years of waiting, I entered the Johan Cruijff Arena in Amsterdam on 21 June for the game between North Macedonia and the Netherlands.

On paper, the game was a dead rubber, with the Netherlands already confirmed as group winners, while North Macedonia were already out of Euro 2020. However, for me personally, it meant so much more than that, as it was the first Dutch National Team game that I had ever been to, while also being the first football match I attended following the year-long hiatus of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Any notion of the meaningless of the game was blown away upon arrival. Due to protocols to reduce contact with other supporters, entrance into the stadium is staged at intervals, and we arrived four hours before the start of the match. Despite the earliness, however, the streets surrounding the ArenA were already awash with orange, with football shirts and more eccentric outfits resplendent on every body in a one-mile vicinity of the stadium.

Entering into one of the bars pre-match, the waiters were dressed in retro Dutch shirts, and spontaneous outbursts of song were already reverberating around its four walls. The North Macedonian fans were doing their bit as well, with their wonderful red and yellow flag and outbursts of Mace-donia adding to the generally joyous pre-match atmosphere.

Once we made it into the stadium, following checks and re-checks of our tickets and Covid-19 tests, the sense that this was as much a party in the name of football, rather than solely a football match, continued. The KNVB (the Dutch FA) had lain out flags marking the occasion upon every seat, while party anthems reverberated around the impressively massive arena. We had to wait three hours for the game to begin, but, in reality, it felt like 20 minutes.

When the whistle for kick-off finally blew, the stadium felt, and looked, full. Although there were only 12,000 in a 60,000-seater stadium, the orange expanded across the empty seats to give a sense of massive wave of Oranje, united behind the team and singing it to victory.

‘Het Wilhelmus’, the Dutch national anthem was roared out by every supporter, myself included, and the sense of being a nation united was overwhelming: this will most likely be the last Dutch game in the ArenA during the tournament, so this was not just a match, but a send-off.

The game itself once again underlined the Netherlands’ credentials for the tournament, as a team that was unfancied prior to the tournament has now set its marker down as one of the favourites.

Frank De Boer, the primary reason for the negative sentiments prior to the tournament, has proven his doubters wrong, as his controversial 3-5-2 style has given the side a solid defensive base, while also maintaining the traditional Dutch flair and dynamism in attack, with Denzel Dumfries a particular danger in his wing-back role.

This dynamism was evident in this game and reinforced by the introduction of PSV striker Donyell Malen into the starting eleven, in place of target man Wout Weghorst. It was Malen’s pace that created the first goal, as he seared away from a defender, before playing a one two with Memphis Depay, laying it off to his strike partner once again for a calm finish.

The third goal came through Malen as well, as talisman Frenkie De Jong laid it into his feet, a seemingly safe build-up which Malen turned on its head with a one touch flick beyond the Macedonian defence, feeding Memphis through, with the rebound finished off by captain Georginio Wijnaldum. Wijnaldum also scored the second, as Memphis cut it back for a finish from only two yards, a routine ending to what was on the whole a routine group stage for the Netherlands.

This, therefore, is the key debate in the Netherlands in the build-up to their last 16 clash with the Czech Republic: whether Malen or Weghorst should start up front. It seems likely that De Boer will go with Malen against what is a slightly lesser quality of opposition is, and this is the right choice.

While Weghorst has scored two goals in his four recent starts for the Netherlands, he is far less comfortable on the ball, and Malen’s skill, and pace to get in behind the defence, should be vital in breaking down defensive opposition.

Aside from the Malen-Weghorst debate, it is clear that the Netherlands should beat the Czech Republic, whoever starts. They have already beaten two sides of similar quality in Austria and Ukraine, and, with their style of play based upon a solid defence and on dominating possession, it should be relatively comfortable. The Czech Republic does carry a threat, through Patrick Schick in particular, but the Netherlands have more than enough to repel this threat, and should have enough quality in attack to break down the Czech defence.

Prior to the tournament I touted the Netherlands as dark horses for a number of reasons, namely the quality of their key men, the underappreciated ability of their lesser-known players, their team spirit and a relatively easy draw.

So far, all these predictions have proven to be correct. Memphis Depay, Georginio Wijnaldum and particularly Frenkie De Jong have all shone so far in the tournament, while Denzel Dumfries has emerged as perhaps the best full-back in the tournament so far.

The draw has been kind, with the Netherlands potentially only facing what you could call ‘elite’ opposition in the semi-final, and the team spirit remains exemplary: as I said before, this side very simply gets on, something that is vital in major tournament football.

At the moment, apart from a vulnerability on the counter-attack due to a lack of protection from midfield, and doubts about Patrick van Aanholt’s ability on the left flank, there is a lot to be exited about for the Netherlands.

Many doubted their ability to make it far in the tournament, and the Dutch population was chief amongst those people, but the team has consistently proven the doubters wrong, and could well continue to do so as the tournament reaches its latter stages.

Whatever happens, one thing is guaranteed: wherever they go, the Dutch team will be spurred on by orange-clad supporters belting out songs in one united wave of Oranje.