Denzel Dumfries scored a dramatic late winner as the Netherlands marked their long-awaited return to a major tournament with a 3-2 victory over Ukraine in a remarkable Euro 2020 game in Amsterdam on Sunday.
Dumfries, the PSV Eindhoven full-back, headed in a cross from substitute Nathan Ake to complete a madcap second half after the home side eased into a two-goal lead and then threw it away.
Captain Georginio Wijnaldum and Wout Weghorst both scored before the hour mark in front a raucous crowd at the Johan Cruyff Arena, only for Ukraine to silence the home supporters as Andriy Yarmolenko and Roman Yaremchuk netted to briefly restore parity.
Frank de Boer’s side got there in the end and the victory will provide a major lift to the Netherlands after what was their first game at a major competition in seven years.
They will now hope to build on it on Thursday against Austria, who beat North Macedonia earlier in Bucharest in the same Group C.
It was a brilliant game, and a crowd of around 16,000 created an atmosphere fit for the occasion at the home of Ajax, where supporters held up banners with messages of support for Christian Eriksen following the Denmark star’s cardiac arrest on Saturday.
Eriksen made his name at Ajax before moving to Tottenham Hotspur in 2013.
After failing to qualify for Euro 2016 or the 2018 World Cup in Russia, the Netherlands were playing their first game at a major competition since beating hosts Brazil 3-0 to claim third place at the 2014 World Cup.
They had not won a game at a Euro in almost exactly 13 years, since Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Robin van Persie netted in a 2-0 win over Romania at Euro 2008.
The emergence of the likes of Frenkie de Jong and Matthijs de Ligt has given supporters of the Oranje new hope for the future.
Those supporters were in fine spirits ahead of the game, bedecked in orange as they filled the bars around the ground in the blazing sunshine, thoughts of the pandemic appearing far away.
A new-look Netherlands
Yet Dutch optimism has been tempered by selection problems facing coach De Boer.
Juventus defender De Ligt watched this game from the stand as he recovers from a groin injury, his absence added to that of fellow centre-back star Virgil van Dijk who is absent from the tournament with the serious knee injury that cut short his season with Liverpool.
Manchester United’s Donny van de Beek withdrew from the squad because of injury and first-choice goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen was left out altogether after testing positive for Covid-19.
De Boer has switched to a 3-5-2 formation and he has real stars in Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong as well as Memphis Depay up front.
The system has helped Wijnaldum – who will join Paris Saint-Germain from Liverpool after the Euro – develop into a real goal-scoring threat from midfield while Dumfries was a constant threat down the right flank.
He should have scored late in the first half when he contrived to put a free header wide, after Ukraine goalkeeper Georgiy Bushchan had produced a fine save to keep out a deflected Wijnaldum volley.
The hosts got their reward shortly after the restart when Bushchan turned a dangerous low ball into the box by Dumfries out into the path of Wijnaldum who fired home.
Weghorst then lashed in a loose ball that came to him following more havoc wrought by Dumfries, and the Netherlands seemed to be on easy street.
Maarten Stekelenburg, at 38 the oldest player ever to represent the Netherlands at a major tournament, had not had much to do but then he was beaten in the 75th minute by a brilliant curling strike from Yarmolenko, the West Ham United winger.
Yaremchuk then headed in a Ruslan Malinovskyi free-kick and Ukraine – whose build-up to the tournament was overshadowed by a row about patriotic slogans on their shirt which upset Russia – looked set to leave with a draw, but then Dumfries appeared.
Austria beat North Macedonia
Substitutes Michael Gregoritsch and Marko Arnautovic scored late goals as Austria sealed a 3-1 victory over major tournament debutants North Macedonia in their Group C opener at Euro 2020 on Sunday.
Stefan Lainer put the Austrians ahead early on in Bucharest, but 37-year-old captain Goran Pandev levelled before the half-hour mark to become the second-oldest scorer in Euro history and delight the vocal Macedonian fans.
But Gregoritsch diverted home the deciding goal 12 minutes from time and Arnautovic added a third to ensure Austria claimed their first-ever European Championship win and struck first blood in a group also containing the Netherlands and Ukraine, who meet in Amsterdam later in the day.
“Above all, the substitutions really paid off,” said Austria coach Franco Foda. “Gregoritsch and Arnautovic gave the team a new impulse. Overall I think it was a deserved win.”
Austria next visit the Dutch on Thursday, while North Macedonia stay in the Romanian capital to face Ukraine.
“There’s no room for disappointment, we have to improve not to repeat the mistakes we’ve done in this game,” said North Macedonia coach Igor Angelovski.
“Now we have to prepare for the next game against Ukraine. I cannot not be proud of my players who qualified for this championship.
“I feel sorry for the supporters, I’m speechless about the atmosphere they’ve created, I hope we will reward them.”
After a bright start by Angelovski’s Macedonians on Sunday, Austria struck against the run of play in the 18th minute as right-back Lainer met Marcel Sabitzer’s cross at the back post to volley past goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski.
Lainer celebrated by holding up a shirt with the words “Eriksen stay strong” after Denmark midfielder Christian Eriksen suffered a cardiac arrest in their game against Finland on Saturday.
It was the first time Austria had taken the lead in a European Championship game.
They quickly threatened a second goal as Sasa Kalajdzic turned Sabitzer’s pass too close to Dimitrievski.
But North Macedonia continued to press and levelled in the 28th minute as Austria goalkeeper Daniel Bachmann lost the ball as he slid out to collect it after some comical defending, and Pandev gleefully accepted the gift to slot into an empty net.
It was a record-extending 38th goal for the former Inter Milan forward for his country, making him the second-oldest player to net in the tournament after Austrian Ivica Vastic at the age of 38 against Poland in 2008.
Foda sent on Arnautovic and Gregoritsch as his side dominated the early stages of the second half, but North Macedonia remained a danger on the break and Boban Nikolov was denied on the hour mark by an onrushing Bachmann.
Minutes later it was Austria who almost forged ahead, but Gregoritsch’s header was excellently palmed away by Dimitrievski.
Neither side sat back to protect their point, but it was the underdogs who continued to look threatening and Ezgjan Alioski and Eljif Elmas both had efforts well blocked.
Austria’s quality shone through in the closing stages, though, as Gregoritsch nipped ahead of Dimitrievski to stab home David Alaba’s low cross.
In the 89th minute, Shanghai Port forward Arnautovic ran clear, rounded the goalkeeper and tapped in to give the scoreline a slightly flattering complexion.