Euro 2024 was one of the notable events that has made 2024 a great year for sports. It was the perfect precursor to the upcoming Olympics that will make it even better. It was held in Germany, and multiple cities were host to some of the memorable games. Some notable cities include Hamburg, Munich, Berlin, Cologne and Frankfurt. The list goes on, as the country features numerous stadiums because football is very popular in the country.
There were many notable teams at the tournament. Despite the fact that the Netherlands had plenty of success in previous Euro competitions, the odds that you could find on operators present on Gamblizard NO, an online casino and sportsbook review platform, showed that the team had low chances of winning the tournament. We now know that the odds were correct, but it was not so in the past. The team has reached the semi-finals five times, and it ranked third four of those times. More importantly, it also won the competition in 1988.
The Netherlands was successful in 2024, especially when you compare the team to the other powerhouses. Let’s look at the team, the forecasts, how the matches went, and where the team got to.
At the start of the tournament, it was clear that the Netherlands would be great at defence. Its defence players were extremely good. However, the main challenges were among forward players. While they were good, other teams had more firepower in the front, which made things a bit more challenging for the Dutch. The main lineup included the following names:
Player
Position
Bart Verbruggen
Goalkeeper
Matthijs de Ligt
Defence
Nathan Aké
Defence
Lutsharel Geertruida
Defence
Virgil van Dijk
Defence (Captain)
Stefan de Vrij
Defence
Georginio Wijnaldum
Midfield
Xavi Simons
Midfield
Cody Gakpo
Forward
Memphis Depay
Forward
Wout Weghorst
Forward
Virgil van Dijk is among the team's most experienced players, and as such, he received the captain title. While the team was known for its strong defence, one of the most important players was the forwards, who scored multiple goals.
Cody Gakpo scored the most goals for the team during the tournament. Donyell Malen was second and Wout Weghorst, Memphis Depay and Stefan de Vrij all scored one goal each. The team as a whole Therefore, even the substitutes played well when they were let in during the second half or near the end of the match.
The Netherlands is always considered one of the top teams when it comes to UEFA Euro competitions. This is due to the massively successful performances in the past. The thing that put the Dutch as underdogs at the Europ 2024 was the fierce group it was a part off.
It had to survive going against strong teams like France, Austria and Poland. Each of the opponents had great teams, and the odds were against the team right from the start.
However, as the team managed to go past the group stage, it became clear that there was something special about the Netherlands team, and the odds started going in their favour. But after the group stage was over, it became evident that they were up against even better teams, which again negatively affected their odds of moving forward further.
Judging from the final results, the odds were quite justified. The team managed to get to the semi-finals, and it became evident that luck played an important role, as the odds realistically showed the team’s power and readiness to win the competition.
In total, the team played 6 games during the competition. Three of those were in the group stage, and three others were after the group stage, which led the team to the semi-finals.
The first match was against Poland, and it showed that the team was capable of going up against strong opponents. It was a great boost to the morale, giving more confidence to the players and hope to the audience at home.
The second game was against France, which was a clear favorite. Even though the Netherlands didn’t win, they also managed to strategically end the game with a draw. This meant a lot for the team after they faced Austria, to which they lost.
Despite the underwhelming performance in the group stage, the team luckily ended up in the next stage. Facing off Romania was an easy win, propelling them to the quarterfinals. However, their next opponent would be much more challenging, Turkey. In the game with Turkiye, the Netherlands showed its power to turn things around. Even though Turkiye scored first, the Netherlands team stayed composed and scored two goals and won the match.
In the end, with a combination of luck and skill, England managed to win against the Netherlands. Even though Xavi Simons scored a goal at the start of the match, a penalty turned that around. It was a draw until the very end when Ollie Watkins scored a goal.
The head coach, Ronal Koeman, is one of the most prominent footballers in the Netherlands. He was a part of the winning team in 1988 and as such, is perceived as one with the most experience. Additionally, he had a great career which also included time spent at FC Barcelona.
That’s important as it has greatly impacted the way the team played in the tournament. Overall, the team forces open play, heavily relying on defenders and midfielders to do the heavy lifting. That kind of approach works perfectly if you have great forwards and it proved to be a good tactic in most of the games.
Despite having a great defence, the small mistake cost the team the finals. Still, with a couple of better forwards, the team could become much more effective in the upcoming competitions. The head coach shared how proud he was of the team.
The team started well with Poland. During that game, it had 65 attacks, 20 of which were goal attempts. Out of the 4 on-target attempts, 2 were successful and turned into goals. Things were a bit different with France, as the team managed to do 35 attacks. 15 of those were attempts on target, but they were not successful at scoring a goal.
Despite losing to Austria, the Netherlands team had similar stats to those in the match with France. They had 34 attacks that translated to 5 on-target attempts. Two of those were successful, but it wasn’t good enough as Austria’s team scored more goals.
The team was domingnat against Romain, against which it had over 66 attacks. In total, the team had 27 attempts which turned into 3 goals.
Last but not least, England's match stats show that the team was not playing their best football. Still, they managed to get only 29 attacks, which is not a surprise as the team had a lower ball possession compared to other matches.
Overall, the true Cody Gakpo stood out as the Netherlands player with the most goals scored in the tournament.
Yet again, the Netherlands team has what they can do at the Euro 2024. Even though they were not able to win the tournament, they reached the semi-finals again. Generally, the team left great impressions, but there’s still plenty of room for improvement. One thing is certain, if they continue perfecting their game, they might win the next Euro, as we all know that this team has all the elements to achieve it. With a little bit of polishing, the next UEFA Euro tournament might be theirs to take.