It was a turning point in the match. In the 55th minute, Matthijs de Ligt stumbled, in front of Patrik Schick, slapped the ball with his hand and Russian judge Sergei Karasev dismissed him after the intervention of the video referee. “Since then, the Czechs have had rivals in the ropes. They pounded and pounded on him,” said expert Gary Neville in the eight-final match of the Euro, in which the Czechs defeated the Dutch 2-0.
The Dutch, who were the only ones to score eight goals in the group, did not send a single shot between the poles in the match for the first time since November 2013. Nevertheless, they sought guilt in a wild handball operation, which was carried out by De Ligt after the change of sides.
“It seemed to me that we were a better team in that red card. The match revolves around one or two moments. At first Malen didn’t escape and a few seconds later we were ten players. The worst thing that can happen against this opponent is that you lose Then he could play exactly what he wanted, “sigh Dutch coach Frank de Boer.
Overwhelmed, De Ligt took over responsibility for the elimination of the Dutch after the match. “In fact, we lost because of my actions; it’s a desperate feeling,” he told Dutch public television NOS. “We had the game under control and suddenly such a rush came. I let the balloon bounce, which was a bad decision,” he poured ashes on his head.
De Ligt looked so unhappy after the match that he even received a question about whether he was too hard on himself. “You know what, this moment turned the game around and I just watched helplessly as the team struggled in the last minutes. It’s really my fault. I still can’t get out of it.”
However, Gary Neville, a former English national team member and now an expert at Sky Sport, resolutely refused to disqualify the Dutch team.
“I will never accept that if you slip that you are unlucky. As a defender, you will only slip if you are out of position when you have misread the flight of the ball and you are acting in panic,” the legendary defender explained.
“After the exclusion of De Ligt, the Czechs had them in their ropes. They were pounding and pounding. De Boer’s boys were upset in a way you wouldn’t believe… They looked really pathetic, unable to adapt tactically to the weakening,” Neville noted.
In contrast, Schick et al. Neville was thrilled by their performance. Already in the interview before the second half, he predicted that they would advance. “They have a killer instinct,” he said. “The Czechs fully deserved the promotion. They had more character and bigger personalities,” he added after the final whistle.
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