AUSTRIA put on a Total Football masterclass to stun the Netherlands in Berlin and top Group D.
The Dutch in contrast were Total Rubbish – a shadow of the great Oranje sides of Johan Cruyff and Marco van Basten that entertained the masses with finesse.
Their punishment? A potential last 16 meeting with England on June 30 in Gelsenkirchen – dependent on other results – after ending Group D in third place.
Meanwhile, thanks to Robert Lewandowski’s late penalty to salvage a 1-1 draw for Poland against France, the Austrians are likely to face one of either Turkey or Czech Republic on July 2 in Leipzig as group winners.
Ralf Rangnick admitted he was a huge admirer of the late Cruyff as a child, and his Austrian underdogs put on a performance to honour the great man himself.
The Dutch netted the earliest own goal in Euros history via winger Donyell Malen in the sixth minute to give Austria the lead.
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Liverpool’s Cody Gakpo levelled the scores in the 46th minute only for the Austrians to hit back just before the hour mark via Romano Schmid.
Memphis Depay made it 2-2 in the 75th minute with a superb instinctive volley, yet it could not compare to Marcel Sabitzer’s wonderful winning finish five minutes later.
Having started the day atop the group, Ronald Koeman will be left bewildered by his Dutch dawdlers, having made three changes from the 0-0 draw with the French.
Lutsharel Geertruida came in for Denzel Dumfries, Joey Veerman in for Xavi Simons and Malen in for Jeremie Frimpong.
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Immediately, Geertruida found himself in trouble at right-back as Alexander Prass found space on the flank on several occasions.
It soon led to the opener, Prass cutting back for Marko Arnautovic, only for Malen to lunge in and divert past his own keeper Bart Verbruggen.
For the first time ever in the Euros, the Dutch had scored an own goal, and it left them rattled, as did Austria’s high tempo, high press approach.
What made it even more impressive was that Rangnick had dropped several starters for this one, including Christoph Baumgartner and Konrad Laimer – both at risk of missing the last 16 with another booking.
The Netherlands were creating half chances – Tijani Reijnders scuffing a decent opening inside the box and Malen dragging a one-on-one just wide – but Austria remained in control.
Koeman responded with a 34th minute substitution, hauling off Veerman for the more attacking Simons, not that it upset Austria’s rhythm to begin with.
A clever corner routine three minutes later had Verbruggen scrambling to save Sabitzer’s low drive before Arnautovic fumbled a chance to shoot from six yards.
The half time whistle was a welcome one for the Dutch and 75 seconds into the restart they were level from a rare moment of brilliance at the Olympiastadion.
Geetruida won the ball in midfield and Simons galloped away before feeding Gakpo down the left. The Anfield man cut in and stung the side-netting.
Momentum had shifted, but not for long. Some more brilliant build-up play around the Dutch box by Austria saw Florian Grillitsch’s chipped cross tee up Schmid with a header.
Stefan de Vrij was lucky not to have an own goal next to his name as well, his attempt at clearing the ball off the line failing miserably.
On came the Netherlands’ saviour Wout Weghorst in the 72nd minute, fresh from scoring the winner to down the Poles in their group opener.
Three minutes later, he provided another Oranje lifeline, winning a header in the box before Depay volleyed into the top corner.
A long, pointless VAR check for a non-existent handball dampened the celebrations somewhat, but dismissed after referee Ivan Kruzliak checked the monitor.
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Yet the Netherlands continued to shoot themselves in the foot, allowing Sabitzer to drift onto the byline untouched with ten minutes left before he fired into the roof of the net from the tightest of angles.
Incredibly, Austria could have had a fourth through Baumgartner but for an offside flag, the footballing gods suggesting the Dutch had been through enough already.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
