Lars Capiau
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The Dutch team defeated Turkey on Saturday and are therefore in the semi-final against England. The morning papers are jubilant about reaching the semi-final for the first time in twenty years, but they do have critical notes about the game of Oranje.
The Netherlands went into the break with a 0-1 deficit, but turned it around in six minutes deep into the second half: 1-2. General Daily Newspaper speaks of a 'straight escape' of the Dutch national team.
“For a long time, the Dutch team looked powerless and weak,” writes the medium, which praises 'fighting machine' Turkey for its defensive discipline. “Turkey lured the Netherlands into a trap and had little to fear for a long time. In the small spaces, not only Memphis Depay, Steven Bergwijn and Xavi Simons had a hard time, but also top scorer and standout Cody Gakpo.”
Bringing in Wout Weghorst after the break was a golden move, the magazine saw. “With Weghorst, Koeman brought more power in the forward line, at the expense of the anonymously playing Steven Bergwijn. The Tukker immediately brought energy, duelling power and a touch of opportunism.”
Partly due to his drive, Koeman managed to guide his team to a semi-final at the European Championship for the first time in twenty years, albeit partly thanks to a relatively simple schedule. NOS explains with one reason why reaching the semi-finals is still an 'excellent result'.
“In principle, Koeman has more quality at his disposal than Louis van Gaal at the World Cup in Qatar, but due to the numerous injuries, that advantage has been significantly reduced. Key player Frenkie de Jong is the main absentee, but the absence of Teun Koopmeiners, Quilindschy Hartman, Noa Lang, Marten de Roon, Quinten and Jurriën Timber and Mats Wieffer also counts.”
“That makes the performance of Koeman and the Dutch national team all the more impressive. He built a real team from the players who were available and has given everyone the impression of being important so far,” the state broadcaster praised the national coach.
Also The Volkskrant do not underestimate the magnitude of the achievement. “The Netherlands is the only relatively small country playing in the semi-final, between the violence of Spain, France and England”, says Willem Vissers, who nevertheless had a lot to say about the attacking game of the semi-finalist.
“Cody Gakpo was unrecognizable, Steven Bergwijn was just there for fun, Xavi Simons was once again tiring because of his naivety, with his countless ball losses due to strange, failed tricks. Denzel Dumfries hardly knew what he was doing on the right flank and Memphis Depay, yes, he was there again, although he was one of the least bad players.”
According to the NRC The Dutch team needed 'resilience and luck' to pull the victory over the line against the Turks. “The Dutch team was passive and vulnerable for a long time”, the medium reports. The Netherlands played a 'sloppy first half' against the 'unyielding' looking Turks.
“But they also seem to waste a lot of energy early on, in a sport that is about two halves,” the newspaper points to energetic Turkey. In a chaotic final phase, goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen proved crucial with a fantastic save. “One of the youngest and at the same time calmest Oranje players on a wild football evening,” the magazine judges.
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