5 best players for the Netherlands at Euro 2020
The Netherlands came home as heroes after reaching the final of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. However, things have not quite gone in their favor in the years that followed.
Despite having a handful of talents at their disposal, the Oranje failed to qualify in consecutive major tournaments (2014 World Cup and Euro 2016).
Nonetheless, things changed for the 2010 runner-ups in the recent past. Under Ronald Koeman's guidance, the Dutch cruised through Euro 2020 qualifiers to secure the second spot behind league-leaders Germany in their group.
While the tournament was postponed by a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Netherlands underwent managerial changes as Koeman left for Barcelona. This meant the Dutch would be appearing in a major tournament after seven years with Frank de Boer at the helm.
Even though the Netherlands wasn't considered one of the favorites, fans around the globe still had high expectations from the Men in Orange. They were placed in Group C alongside Austria, Ukraine and North Macedonia at Euro 2020.
De Boer's men beat all of their opponents to top the group with nine points before suffering a surprise 2-0 loss at the hands of the Czech Republic. Despite their early exit from the tournament, the Oranje had their share of stand-out performances.
On that note, let us take a look at the top 5 players for the Netherlands at Euro 2020.
#5 Patrick van Aanholt
The Crystal Palace wing-back was an integral part of Frank de Boer's plans. The Dutch coach, who deployed the 5-3-1 formation, used van Anholt as a neutral midfielder who had to help the team in both attack and defense.
The 30-year-old created quite an impact at Euro 2020. Even though van Aanholt didn't end up on the scoresheet, his work rate was lauded.
Having started in all four games (three in the group stage and one in the knockout), van Aanholt played a total of 296 minutes with a passing accuracy of almost 80%. He also made many key tackles in midfield.
#4 Daley Blind
Passing accuracy, successful tackles, assisting the forwards, you name it, and Daley Blind has done it for his team in the competition.
The Dutch left-back was an integral part of The Netherlands throughout their journey at Euro 2020. Blind's match awareness came up big for his side on numerous occasions during the tournament.
Despite the Netherlands' loss against the Czech Republic, the former Red Devils star ended up as the player with the most passes and tackles in the match.