Netherlands (NED) lock horns with Czech Republic (CZE), aiming to make it to the quarter-finals of a major competition for the first time since 2014. Frank de Boer’s men won all their group stage games and struck eight goals. Despite making a winning start to their Euro 2020 campaign, Czech Republic finished third in their group and qualified to the last 16 as one of the best third-placed teams. The Euro 1996 runners-up beat Scotland in their tournament opener, drew with Croatia, and lost to England in the final group stage fixture.
Georginio Wijnaldum is Netherlands’ leading goalscorer in the tournament, but Memphis Depay has been the Oranje’s lynchpin in the attacking front. The Barcelona-bound forward has unsettled opposition defenders with his pace and dribbling. He scored in the last two games and assisted Wijnaldum’s first goal against North Macedonia. Meanwhile, Matthijs de Ligt’s return from injury has helped the Dutch to keep a clean sheet in the last two matches.
The Czechs have struggled to replicate the impressive performance from the Scotland game against Croatia and England. Patrik Schick, who has scored all three Czech Republic goals in Euro 2020, is key to their goalscoring hopes as the 25-year-old has registered six out of their nine shots on target. Midfield duo Tomas Soucek and Tomas Holes will have their task cut out against the Netherlands’ attacking unit. The Czech back four, too, has to be at their best to keep them at bay.
Head-to-Head
Played: 11
NED won: 3
CZE won: 5
Drawn: 3
Top Five Fantasy Points scorers (Euro 2020 Group Stage)
NED: P Schick (35 pts), V Coufal (23 pts), T Soucek (18.5), O Celustka (16 pts), T Kalas (15 pts)
CZE: G Wijnaldum (44 pts), M Depay (32 pts), D Blind (31.5 pts), D Dumfries (28 pts), P van Aanholt (25 pts)
Euro 2020 Stats
Top Goalscorer: NED – G Wijnaldum (3 goals); CZE – P Schick (3 goals)
Most Assists: NED – M Depay, D Malen (2 assists); CZE – V Coufal (1 assists)
Most Passes Completed: NED – D Blind (228 passes); CZE – V Coufal (120 passes)
Most Successful Tackles: NED – F de Jong (4 tackles); CZE – T Holes (5 tackles)
Shots Saved: NED – M Stekelenburg (5 saves); CZE – T Vaclik (9 saves)
Injuries/Suspensions
NED: L De Jong (injured), M Sadilek (doubtful)
CZE: J Boril (suspended)
Playing 11
NED (possible): M Stekelenburg; M De Ligt, S De Vrij, D Blind; D Dumfries, F de Jong, M de Roon, G Wijnaldum, P Van Aanholt; M Depay, D Malen
CZE (possible): T Vaclik; V Coufal, O Celustka, T Kalas, P Kaderabek; T Soucek, T Holes; L Masopust, A Barak, J Jankto; P Schick
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Parameswaran Sankaranarayanan
Parameswaran Sankaranarayan is a sports enthusiast who has worked in print, website, and other digital platforms. He was part of the editorial team of first-ever Indian football-based website - IndianFootball.com (now defunct) - and passionately follows the latest happenings in world football. During his time as a journalist, he had the opportunity to interact with some of the iconic personalities in Indian sports and witness some memorable moments in Indian football.
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