(Football news) The teams meet in Berlin. After their draw with France, the Oranje have four points; Ralf Rangnick’s team defeated Poland the last time out and has the potential to advance to the round of 16.
The Netherlands moved one step closer to their main objective on Friday night when they held tournament favorites France to a 0-0 draw. This is the eighth time in their past nine European Championship outings that the team has advanced to the knockout stages.
Xavi Simons looked to have given his team the lead in the 69th minute, hitting into the bottom corner after Memphis Depay was denied by France goalkeeper Mike Maignan, but neither side was able to break the score in Leipzig.
However, following a lengthy VAR check, the strike was ultimately ruled out for offside, with Dutch defender Denzel Dumfries judged to have been interfering with Maignan’s dive – that left boss Ronald Koeman fuming, but his side still managed to put themselves within a whisker of the last 16.
Having previously beaten Poland 2-1 in their opener, the Oranje will secure a place in Group D’s top two should they avoid losing to Austria; guaranteeing first place if they win and France fail to deliver against Poland.
Meanwhile, if Koeman’s men draw and France win they would still finish second – even in defeat, four points will be enough to progress as a third-placed finisher following Albania’s loss to Spain on Monday.
Since the 2014 World Cup, the Netherlands are unbeaten in group matches at major tournaments, winning nine of 11 and scoring in each game except last week’s goalless encounter with Les Bleus. During that streak, Austria were beaten 2-0 at Euro 2020, when Depay and Dumfries were both on target at the Johan Cruijff Arena.
Including defeat in Amsterdam three summers ago, Austria have lost their last seven matches against the Netherlands – their longest ongoing sequence against a single opponent.
In fact, their last victory over the Oranje dates back to May 1990, but ending that barren run may be necessary on Tuesday evening, in order to ensure qualification for the last 16.
Austria will actually win Group D if they take maximum points and France do not, but should they draw and Les Bleus lose, the Austrians will instead finish third on head-to-head record.
One point would surely prove sufficient to progress as a best third-place team in any case, helping Das Team reach the European Championship knockout rounds for the second consecutive edition. Having failed to get past the group stage in their first two appearances – as hosts in 2008, and then again eight years later – that would represent an impressive achievement.
After suffering defeat to France in their first match at Euro 2024, two players recalled to the starting lineup were on the scoresheet as Ralf Rangnick’s side recorded an important 3-1 victory over Poland on Friday afternoon.
Gernot Trauner opened the scoring, and Christoph Baumgartner netted Austria’s second after a clever dummy from Marko Arnautovic, who went on to confirm all three points from the penalty spot with 12 minutes remaining.
Following their 3-1 victory in Berlin, the Austrians could now win back-to-back games at a major finals for the first time since 1982 when they step out at the iconic Olympiastadion once again.
Also read: England will play Slovenia in their last match of the group stage
