Evening Standard
·4. Juli 2024
Evening Standard
·4. Juli 2024
The Dutch have a clean bill of health ahead of the quarter-finals
Netherlands head into their Euro 2024 quarter-final matchup against Turkey with plenty of momentum after their convincing 3-0 defeat of Romania in the Round of 16.
Liverpool’s Cody Gakpo was particularly impressive, scoring his third goal of the tournament in the 20th minute, and setting up Donyell Malen to score the Dutch’s second goal in the 83rd minute to put the tie to bed.
For his efforts, he was rewarded with his second Player of the Match award of the Euros. Gakpo has been one of the stars of the tournament so far, and will be vital to Dutch hopes of making the semi-finals.
While Gakpo has been one of the mainstays of a front six that Netherlands manager Ronald Koeman has experimented with during the tournament, Joey Veerman has been replaced in the starting lineup by Tijjani Reijnders since getting substituted against Austria after only 33 minutes, while Malen should replace Steven Bergwijn after scoring two goals against Romania.
At the back, Denzel Dumfries has secured his place at right back. Koeman dropped him against Austria in favour of Lutsharel Geertruida, who looked out of sorts as the Dutch defence conceded three goals.
The Dutch didn’t look comfortable at the back throughout the group stage, despite the presence of Virgil van Dijk and Nathan Aké, and will need to tighten up against a dangerous Turkish team.
Netherlands predicted lineup: Verbruggen, Aké, van Dijk, de Vrij, Dumfries, Reijnders, Schouten, Gakpo, Simons, Malen, Depay
Injured: None
Doubts: None
Time and date: 8pm BST on Saturday, July 6, 2024
Venue: Olympiastadion, Berlin
TV channel and live stream: ITV1, ITVX