The 'Orange Army' recorded their first win of the tournament against Poland.
A come-from-behind goal from former Manchester United striker Wout Behhorst gave the Orange Army a 2-1 victory in their Euro 2024 Group D opener at the Falksparkstadion in Hamburg, Germany on Saturday (June 16).
Poland, objectively a weaker side than the Netherlands, were without two of their tactical center backs for the match. Robert Lewandowski, responsible for five of the team's 11 goals in qualifying, and Arkadiusz Milik, one of Juventus' top strikers, were both sidelined with injuries.
The Netherlands weren't at full strength either, with key midfield player Frankie De Jong leaving camp with an ankle injury ahead of the tournament. Rising Ajax striker Brian Brobbie was also ruled out of the match after suffering a hamstring injury last week.
Poland scored first. They capitalized on a corner kick in the 16th minute, with Adam Buksa heading home a ball from the left flank.
The Netherlands responded right back. In the 19th minute, they converted a corner into a scoring opportunity. Virgil Pandijk's volley was saved by Polish goalkeeper Szczesny. In the 21st minute, Memphis Depay's right-footed shot from the edge of the box bounced off the post.
The Netherlands equalized in the 28th minute of the first half. Cody Gakpo did it on his own. Gakpo picked up the ball near the penalty arc and unleashed a surprise mid-range shot that deflected off a deflection off the defense and into the back of Szczesny's head, rattling the net.
In first-half stoppage time, the Netherlands had a chance to pull one back when Nathan Ake's ball in from the left flank found Munchen. Defoe got his head to it and fired a shot that just 사설토토 missed the post.
With the score at 1-1 midway through the second half, Ronald Koeman, desperate for a goal, brought on Behorst for Defoe in the 36th minute.
The substitute's impact came just two minutes in, as he rattled the Polish net with a left-footed shot from the edge of the box.
Without two of their top guns, Poland struggled to find any traction in the Dutch zone. With two minutes of second-half regulation time remaining, a frustrated Lewandowski was caught on the Polish bench. He took advantage of a lapse in concentration by the Dutch defense and had a chance to score, but was denied by Dutch goalkeeper Bart Pervrughen.
The Netherlands, who were favorites to win the last edition of the tournament, packed their bags early after falling to a 0-2 knee to the Czech Republic in the round of 16. They will be looking to win the tournament for the first time in 36 years, since 1988.
Poland, who have competed at the European Championship since 2008, have reached the quarterfinals of the 2016 tournament as their best result. In the rest of the tournaments, including the last one, they failed to advance past the group stage.
Poland and the Netherlands are in Group D, one of the toughest groups in the tournament. Poland will play Austria and the Netherlands will play France next.
