The Dutch national team will play in the eighth finals of the European Championship against the Czech Republic tonight at 6 p.m. In the Puskás Arena, the stadium that will be filled with 60,000 spectators, the team of national coach Frank de Boer will compete for a place in the quarterfinals for a meeting with Denmark. As expected, Donyell Malen is preferred over Wout Weghorst in the vanguard. The PSV striker made a good impression against North Macedonia and played the attacker of VfL Wolfsburg from the base.
In the run-up to the eighth final, the question was which player De Boer would choose in the vanguard next to Memphis Depay. Weghorst did not make an indelible impression in the first two group matches, despite being accurate against Ukraine. Malen got the chance against North Macedonia and he grabbed it with both hands. The striker created a huge threat with his speed and he also seemed to have a good click with Depay. After the last group match, De Boer did not want to say anything about who will play in the striker next to Depay in the eighth finals. So the choice fell on Malen.
Marten de Roon returns to the base in midfield. The Atalanta midfielder was still in the stands against North Macedonia, partly because he was on edge with a yellow card. He was replaced by Ryan Gravenberch, who in turn has to settle for a spot on the bench tonight. Teun Koopmeiners has no place in the match selection; he is in the stands.
Georginio Wijnaldum will wear the One Love captain’s armband tonight to show that football belongs to everyone. “By wearing this band, we as the the Dutch want to emphasize that we stand for inclusivity and connection,” said the midfielder. “We are against any form of exclusion and discrimination. In this way, we hope to support everyone who feels discriminated against anywhere in the world.” the Dutch fans took rainbow flags to Budapest to protest a recently enacted anti-gay law in Hungary. UEFA has banned the wearing of rainbow flags in the the Dutch fan zone and stadium.
Wijnaldum and Depay find Marco van Basten on the top scorers list of European Championship and World Cup final rounds when scoring a goal. Van Basten and Johan Neeskens have five goals. Dennis Bergkamp scored the most goals for the the Dutch in a final round: ten. When Davy Klaassen comes into action, he will play his 25th international match, while Quincy Promes can double the number of the Ajax player. The Netherlands is supported in the eighth finals against the Czech Republic by about eight thousand supporters.
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Netherlands setup: Stekelenburg; Dumfries, De Vrij, De Ligt, Blind, Van Aanholt; De Roon, Wijnaldum, De Jong; Malen, Depay.
Czech Republic setup: vaclik; Coufal, Celustka, Kalas, Kaderabek; Holes, Soucek; Masopust, Barak, Sevcik; schick.
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