The Czech Republic on Sunday stunned the Netherlands by defeating them 2-0 and secured a quarter-final berth against Denmark. The Netherlands’ woes were compounded after their defender Matthijs de Ligt was sent off for handball following a VAR review.
13 minutes after de Ligt was sent off, Tomas Holes scored the opener for the Czech Republic. 12 minutes later, Patrik Schick made it 2-0 as the Dutch struggled to struggle with 10 men against their opponents, ranked 40th in the world, 24 places behind them.
Reacting to his red card, de Ligt said that he was responsible for his team’s defeat in the crucial Euro match. He told Dutch public broadcaster NOS, “Of course, it feels bad. In hindsight, I shouldn’t have let the ball bounce.” He added, “I had it under control. The ball came and I let it bounce. I fell to the ground and got pushed, which made me use my hands. The moment changed the game and I feel responsible. I saw how the guys fought after and I’m proud of it. But I feel bad about the incident.”
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In the other match, Belgium pulled off a sensational 1-0 win against the defending champion Portugal. The lone goal for Belgium came in the 42nd minute of the match when Eden Hazard’s brother, Thorgan Hazard, made no mistake in converting the assist from Thomas Meunier. Belgium will not face Italy in a mouth-watering quarter-final clash on Friday.
Reacting to his side’s win, Belgium coach Roberto Martínez said, “Today wasn’t just about how good we could be, it was also about how we adapted to what Portugal do best, which is doing exactly what they need to do in the game to win.
“That’s why they are the current Euro champions and they won the Nations League: they have incredible experience and they know how to take those moments when they can hurt you.”
In today’s matches, Croatia will face Spain before France and Switzerland would be seen locking horns in the second match for a place in the quarter-finals.