Denzel Dumfries said the Netherlands learnt their lessons from their defeat to Austria as they convincingly beat Romania 3-0 in the last 16 of Euro 2024.
A 3-2 defeat to Austria in their final group game saw the Dutch finish third in Group F but they responded by putting in their best performance at the tournament so far against the Romanians to seal their quarter-final place.
Cody Gakpo opened the scoring in Munich before Donyell Malen’s brace sealed the victory in an impressive display of attacking football.
Right-back Dumfries said: “We learnt our lessons from the Austria game. We had a lot of conversations last week.
“I think we did very well, especially in the pressing, especially in ball possession.
“So we’re very proud because we came back from the Austria game, where we were not happy with our performance, and did very well.”
𝐐𝐔𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐑-𝐅𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐋𝐒! 🇳🇱#NothingLikeOranje #ROUNED pic.twitter.com/E3KB9t9FKE
— OnsOranje (@OnsOranje) July 2, 2024
Goalscorer Gakpo also set up Malen for his first goal and was part of a free-flowing attack which mustered 23 shots on goal.
The Liverpool forward said: “Overall, it was a good game from our side. We knew they were a tough opponent, so we were ready to fight.
“The fans were great in the stadium, which helps. We needed to score goals, and that’s what we did.”
If you fancy a wager on the Euro 2024 quarter-finals, don’t forget to visit the Betano Free bets offer page to claim £30 free bets
The Netherlands will face the winner of Austria against Turkey in Berlin on Saturday and Gakpo says Ronald Koeman’s men want to enjoy a memorable journey in the knockout stage.
Asked about his experiences watching Dutch teams of the past, he said: “I have no memories of 2004, but I do of 2008. [EURO] 2012 was not a good year for us, but then we had a really good World Cup.
“We’re now here with our squad and trying to create memories of our own. It was important today to make a small statement.”
