Netherlands booked their place in the last 16 of the European Championships after a 2-0 victory over Austria. Michael Bell provides his player ratings for the victory.
- Follow Michael on Twitter
Maarten Stekelenburg 6/10: A clean sheet for the veteran goalkeeper, who did not have much to do in goal. He commanded the area well from crosses.
Denzel Dumfries 7.5/10: Are we looking at one of the sensations of the tournament? Dumfries won the penalty and then netted the second goal. A constant threat down the right and he has now played a role in all five Oranje goals this tournament.
Patrick van Aanholt 6.5/10: A better performance from the left-back, who offered more threat going forward and was good in defence.
Stefan De Vrij 7.5/10: A commanding performance from the centre-back, who also caught the eye with his drives forward from the back. An excellent partnership with De Ligt.
Matthijs de Ligt 7.5/10: Back in the line-up and he made two crucial blocks in the first half to deny Austria. A very mature performance from the Juventus star in his first major tournament game.
Daley Blind 7/10: After his emotional performance against Ukraine, Blind also did well at the back against the Austrian’s, who failed to find a way through the Ajax star. On the ball, Blind was excellent and he got Oranje moving forward.
Frenkie De Jong 8/10: What a player Frenkie is. Everywhere on the pitch and his trademark runs got Netherlands moving forward. Everything looked effortless from De Jong as he won the ball back and skipped through challenges. Did lose the ball a couple of times late on in the game but an overall excellent performance.
Georginio Wijnaldum 7.5/10: Worked so hard on the ball. Wijnaldum’s strength is shielding possession and he did well to wriggle out of a few tight situations against several Austrian opponents. Worked tirelessly towards the end and made some driving runs. Not as involved in the attack and had two efforts blocked.
Maarten De Roon 6/10: Picked up an early yellow card for a silly late challenge but managed to keep a cool head from then on. Did make interceptions but constantly gave the ball away after winning it back. Can De Boer consider Gravenberch, Klaassen or Koopmeiners?
Wout Weghorst 6/10: Was very unselfish to set up Memphis for a strike in the first half when many strikers would have just shot. Worked hard and won aerial challenges, but did not really convince. Looked slow when trying to get in behind Alaba.
Memphis Depay 6/10: Netted the penalty to send Oranje on their way to victory, but Memphis was not at his best once again. Should have buried the chance to make it 2-0 and some of his efforts on goal were poor. Still has plenty more to offer going forward in the tournament.
Substitutes
Nathan Ake 6/10: Came on for Blind and was solid at the back. Won some aerial challenges and did his job.
Owen Wijndal 6/10: Came in for Van Aanholt and had some chances to counter attack but looked a bit short of pace at times. A decent showing from the AZ star.
Donyell Malen 7/10: The Netherlands attack was crying out for some pace and Malen offered it. He got in behind to set up the second goal with a very unselfish pass to Dumfries. Should be in the running to start v North Macedonia.
Ryan Gravenberch N/A: Not on the pitch long enough for a review
Luuk de Jong N/A: Not on the pitch long enough for a review
a good overall performance by the team and great improvement from last match we totally dominated the game and did well defensively
de ligt was crucial in the squad gave us more stable defense with de vrij and blind PVA(was very good imo) are very well together they complete each others thats what make them good
Dumfries also he proved me wrong this tournament until now we also didnt give them spaces like we did in the last matches just alaba’s shot which i saw stekelenburg shouting at the defense
the midfield was masterclass with frenkie and gini dominating the ball going forward and also defensively marteen de roon also was good this match in my opinion just the silly yellow card but he played a good game we must give him credits
Depay has more to show us he is still not doing what we used to see from him and i hope that changed with going forward.. Weghorst should have shoot the ball into the goal cmon you are a striker sometimes you must be selfish but i cant blame him also he passed it very well to memphis i think we lack pace forward which malen can be essential in this part against high line defensive teams he can be useful in matches like this
overall the team is getting better i was afraid from austria more than ukraine but we totally shut them down i hope the team just continue to perform like that and getting better every match
Definitely agree that Memphis, though still involved in both goals here, can do better. Often makes the wrong decision in the final third, especially when he tries to make things happen single-handedly (which is usually). Needs to be less selfish.
Unlikely FDB does this, but against Macedonia (and possibly in R16 depending how it goes) I think move Blind to DM for De Roon. Blind sees the pitch much better and doesn’t misplace passes often. Ake can take his place at LCB, he’s mostly done fine there.
Kluivert and boadu could help the team, there are some concern in atack against strong team.
Why are you always so critical of De Roon? I think he is a great player who does his job well and so did Ronald Koeman, and so does De Boer. He had an amazing first half against Ukraine last week and didn’t play poorly yesterday. He didn’t come from Ajax/ Psv/ Feyenoord and im glad to see him play because most of the time the coaches favor those players. You guys are the only people I ever here complain about Marteen de Roon. I know that he might struggle to play the Ajax total voetbal system but he knows how to play in a 5-3-2 unlike most Dutchmen. I think since Kidman took over he has been one of our most consistent players Not meant to be mean or anything just noticed over the last 3 years that you clearly don’t like him and I think that’s unfair. Great work with the website though!
Blind has to be replaced by ake.Better attacking teams will exploit him.
Hi Derek
I have no beef with Ajax or any other club or approach. Simply put, he looks lost at times, doesn’t contribute going forward which is something they need, allowing Memphis and Wout to play upfield more and score
He is a decent holding midfielder, but what/who did they need to hold against Ukraine and Austria? Ukraine goals were a fluke albeit well taken, the Dutch pressed them well and dominated. And Austria was toothless upfront
I’m in favor of more creativity in the middle that’s all