The Dutch nightmare began in 1976. In the semi-finals of the European Championship they faced Czechoslovakia. The later winners lost 1: 3 after extra time. And ahead of time, Johan Neeskens and Wim van Hanegem were thrown out of the field.
The wraiths have fallen asleep for almost three decades, but are back. In the Euro 2004 finals, the “Orange” team faced the Czech Republic in the group stage (both teams then reached the semi-finals). Despite leading by two goals, they lost the match 2-3. And they ended the competition weakened again. This time Johnny Heiting looked at the red card.
And finally, the year 2021. In this year’s championship, fate linked both teams in the 1/8 finals. Our southern neighbors again turned out to be the best, unexpectedly winning 2-0, and the Dutch once again finished the match in the bull’s-eye. In the 55th minute – so still with a goalless draw – Mathijs de Ligt had to leave the field after the VAR analysis.
The story was incredible. All four red cards that “Oranje” received in the European Championships fell on their skirmishes with the Czech Republic. The red curse has been going on for 45 years.
Euro 2020 – see the results, pair set and 1/8 finals schedule