BUDAPEST, Hungary - As Patrick Schick races to celebrate the Czech Republic's 2-0 win against the Netherlands and a goal sealing the date of the Euro 2020 quarterfinal with Denmark, Dutch coach Frank de Boer hits the touchline Gave a great look - if only his team had a striker as reliable as Bayer Leverkusen.
Louis van Gaal's team has managed to relegate the Netherlands to a group stage exit at Euro 2020 in the country's first major tournament since reaching the semi-finals at the 2014 World Cup, but this humble defeat in Budapest was a reality. check for.
Coasting through arguably the easiest group in the tournament by winning all three games against Ukraine, Austria and North Macedonia, many probably gave the wrong impression of the distance the Dutch traveled under De Boer. Yes, they have bright, young talent with Frenkie de Jong, Matthijs de Ligt and Donyell Malen– all of whom made their tournament debut in this competition. Denzel Dumfries, aged 25, is another who will be expected to be around Qatar 2022 and Euro 2024 in Germany. But unless the Dutch find a striker like Schick, who scored four goals at Euro 2020 in four games with his 80th-minute strike at the Puskas Arena, he won't be a serious contender in 2022 or 2024.
He also has issues in goal, where 38-year-old Maarten Stecklenburg is well past his best, but Valencia's Jasper Silesen - ruled out of the competition due to a positive COVID-19 test - and Norwich City's Tim Krul on Give Came de Boer a top-level keeper who plays first-team football regularly for months and years to come.
However, there is no world-class goal scorer available for De Boer, and this is hurting the Dutch. Had they been able to call on one of the greats of their past – Marco van Basten, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Robin van Persie, Patrick Kluivert and many others – the Netherlands would have won this round-of-16 comfortably.
Malone lost his best chance on 52 minutes when, after being released by a Memphis Depay flick, he burst through the Czech defense and found himself face-to-face with goalkeeper Tomas Váklik. It was the sort of chance that his famous predecessors would have buried, but Malone delayed his shot and it was enough for Vaiklick to block his attempt before pressing Depay's follow-up.
Critical moments turn into big play, and Malen's omission proved costly less than a minute later when VAR informed referee Sergei Karsev that the Juventus defender handled the ball under pressure from Schick as the last defender. was. Schick was lucky not to give a free kick to foul de Ligt initially, but his persistence earned the set piece and the Dutch were forced to play without their best defender for more than half an hour.
This was another aspect of his impressive performance. Schick scores the goal, but he also puts pressure on the defenders and gets things done. No Dutch forward has shown the ability to do so.
De Ligt's absence from the defense became apparent in the 68th minute when Dutchman Antonin Barak failed to tackle a free kick and left Tomas Kalas on the back post to win a header and directed it to Tomas Holes, who took the second position. Were. Keep the check ahead.
From that time on, the Dutch played as if they were running through quicksand. The checks seemed more fit, more powerful and more firm. While De Ligt's loss didn't help the Dutch, it wasn't the only reason they faded into the drop in temperatures in the Hungarian capital. His downfall was due to his own shortcomings and failure to take advantage of early opportunities.
But when they look back on the tournament, the Dutch will know they went into it without their best keeper - Silesen - and their defensive leader in Virgil van Dijk. With both of them in line for a World Cup qualifying campaign, the Netherlands will hope to top a group in which Turkey and Norway are the only potential hurdles - even without the striker.
If Depay settles at Barcelona after his summer move from Lyon, the former Manchester United forward could become an attacking substitute in a central role, but de Boer will still need and need a player like Schick. He is the primary reason why the Czech Republic believe they can overtake next week's quarter-finals. If he continues to score, the Czechs will be the favorites to beat Denmark for a place in the semi-finals.