Netherlands 2-3 Austria: Marcel Sabitzer’s winner sees Ralf Rangnick’s side edge out Euro 2024’s five-goal thriller – with the beaten Oranje now on a collision course with England in the last 16 final
As the messy permutations of the knockout stages twisted and shifted during this wild match, one thought crystallized in the madness: Austria are a team England should not wish to meet in a hurry.
If there was a second instinct, it was to ask once again how the manager of Manchester United’s workhorses made his team such convincing dark horses during these championships. It’s good for Ralf Rangnick, it’s good for Austria, it’s bad for anyone who takes them lightly.
Arriving here, there was no guarantee they would progress into a group containing France and the Netherlands.
To top it all ? Well, that’s definitely impressive and their elevation to a different sector of the draw should be a source of relief for England.
It was a match where we saw some Austrian vulnerabilities, but it was also a draw where they showed much more.
Borussia Dortmund midfielder Marcel Sabitzer wins match in thrilling clash in Berlin
Sabitzer managed to place his shot from a tight angle to give Austria their third lead of the afternoon.
Netherlands will advance to the round of 16 as one of the best teams for third place
They pushed the orange into the squash, they attacked quickly, but above all, they had the courage to react quickly, after twice canceling the advances.
Indeed, despite all the twists and turns that saw the Dutch come back from 1-0 and 2-1 down before Marcel Sabitzer’s punch, Ronald Koeman’s side were only level for 22 minutes throughout the match and was never comfortable for a second.
His day was an absolute nightmare, starting with his response to a rather brutal performance in the draw against France.
He had opted to make three changes, with Lutsharel Geertruida, Joey Veerman and Malen introduced and Xavi Simons among those left out.
To give an idea of how these changes worked, Veerman was hooked for Simons after 35 minutes and Malen had a hell of a first half.
His own goal in the sixth minute was somewhat unfortunate, as it came from a rushed interception to prevent Alexander Prass’s low cross from finding Marco Arnautovic’s run behind him.
These deviations depend less on judgment than on luck, so Koeman’s anger on the touchline was more focused on the freedom given to Prass on the left flank, having already seen him wreak havoc there a moment earlier.
Donyell Malen (right) tried to get back and help his defense, but ended up putting the ball past his own keeper.
The Borussia Dortmund winger scored an own goal to give Austria an early lead against the Netherlands.
Liverpool striker Cody Gakpo continued his fine form at the tournament with an effort that brought the Netherlands level.
As for Marlen, greater blame would attach to the chance he then squandered. The Netherlands didn’t have many, as these Austrians are fabulously well organized with the ball, but when one of them did, via a neat ball between the center halves from Depay, he didn’t only took a half-decent finish.
One-on-one with Patrick Pentz and shooting on the turn, Malen scraped the frame. Throughout the entire half, Pentz didn’t need to make a single save and his teammates were celebrating. To illustrate, they had a 30+ pass streak and a boost from Rangnick.
Koeman? He was less happy. Before the end of the half, he had changed his personnel and abandoned his system for a 4-2-3-1.
Combined with what we can assume was a frank conversation at the break, there was an impact immediately after the restart. Geertruida established a platform by winning possession from Arnautovic deep in the Dutch half, before Simons launched into a three-on-two attack and played down the left for Gakpo.
With one touch he bought space from Philipp Lienhart somewhat easily and with another he got around Pentz.
It took just 12 minutes before Austria regained the lead. The goal was due to the delicacy of Patrick Wimmer’s ball which broke the line, then Florian Grillitsch’s cross from the touchline was sent onto Schmidd’s forehead.
Romano Schmid heads home from close range to restore his team’s lead against the Netherlands
Memphis Depay brought his team level with a wonderfully executed effort in the 75th minute.
The Atletico Madrid striker’s celebrations were cut short before VAR restored the strike.
Austria qualified at the top of Group D thanks to their victory and France’s draw against Poland in the other match.
Once again, the Netherlands found their way back when Depay struck and volleyed for 2-2, which was initially disallowed by the referee for offside, only for the VAR to correct intervention.
The place erupted, but it was short-lived relief, with Sabitzer sliding behind Jerdy Schouten and receiving a sharp ball from Christoph Baumgartner. He drilled the winner into the small space between Bart Verbruggen and his near post.
