Netherlands are through to the quarterfinals of Euro 2024 Championship in Germany following a 3-0 thrashing of Romania in their round of 16 clash on Tuesday.
Liverpool’s Cody Gakpo scored his third goal of the European Championship and Donyell Malen added two more late on as the Dutch burst back into form with a lively display to edge out Romania.
The Dutch had been lambasted by the local media and fans for a poor defensive display in their final group game, a 3-2 loss to Austria, but were more composed and in control as they reached the Euro quarter-finals for the first time since 2008.
They took the lead after 20 minutes when Gakpo drilled a low angled shot home at goalkeeper Florin Nita’s near post before Malan’s late double helped set up a quarter-final with Austria or Turkey, who play later on Friday, in Berlin on Saturday.
The Netherlands had two thirds of possession and almost five times more chances in the game to underline their superiority as Virgil van Dijk struck the post with a header and Gakpo had a second effort ruled out for offside.