The Netherlands is linked to the Czech Republic in the eighth finals of the European Championship, which finished third in Group D. The Czech media is eagerly looking forward to Sunday’s meeting in Budapest. the Dutch is considered favorite. “The traditional the Dutch color of Frank de Boer’s selection symbolizes glowing lava at the tournament,” the newspaper writes Blesk.
With four points from three games, the Czech Republic finished in third place in Group D. After a 0-2 win over Scotland, a 1-1 draw against Croatia and a 0-1 loss against England followed. “We consider the Netherlands to be one of the top teams and favorites of the tournament. But if we perform optimally, we can compete against anyone. The game will show whether it was a lucky draw or not,” assistant national coach Jiri Chytry told Czech media.
Blesk does not seem dissatisfied with the Netherlands as an opponent. “The national team finished third after being overtaken by the English and Croats. But in the end, the team isn’t even that bad. Yes, the Netherlands is group winner, but Croatia takes on Spain as number two. And what makes it even more interesting: the winner of the round of 16 will face the winner of the match between Wales and Denmark in the quarterfinals. However, surviving the next round will be a chore. The country of Johan Cruijff and Marco van Basten went through the group stage whistling. They finished with Ukraine, Austria and North Macedonia, scored eight times and radiated fun.”
“The Netherlands was sovereign, but the home environment has helped them a lot”, the Czech trainer Miroslav Soukup, the coach of the Olympic team of Iraq, refers to the three matches of the Dutch in the Johan Cruijff ArenA. “The Netherlands didn’t have the hardest road to the next round. Yes, Ukraine scored twice in a short time, but that may have been due to underestimation of the Netherlands. It will certainly not be an easy game. If we want to make it to the quarter-finals, we will have to deliver an even better performance than against Scotland,” Soukup said. Also the Czech newspaper Denik sees De Boer’s team as the favourite: “the Dutch won Group C without losing a single point and is clearly the favourite. The Netherlands, together with Italy, are playing the best football so far this European Championship.”
“We can be difficult about the Czech Republic, but that is by no means the Czech Republic of Poborský, Koller and Rosicky,” said Pierre van Hooijdonk on Wednesday evening. NOS on the opponent of the Dutch. André Ooijer joined in and does not think that the Netherlands will underestimate the Czech Republic. “As far as I’m concerned, that’s not possible. I think we have a very good selection and I think we can compete against Germany or Portugal, but we are on the right side,” said the former international.
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