Euro 2020: Wijnaldum and Depay lead North Macedonia thumping as Netherlands complete 100% record
The Netherlands has been a different beast at Euro 2020. The Oranje were in wobbly form before the start of the tournament, but they’ve quickly switched things up.
Frank de Boer’s side wasn’t too convincing in their opening group game against Ukraine, squandering a two-goal lead before recording a late winner.
However, they’ve been in a different class ever since. The Netherlands easily dispatched Austria and have now completed a 100% win record in Group C after beating North Macedonia on Monday.
It was a rout at the Johan Cruyff Arena. Aside from hitting the post in the first half, North Macedonia were largely passengers in a one-sided game.
Depay and Wijnaldum shine against North Macedonia
The fact is that Goran Pandev and Co. were never going to trouble the Netherlands. In truth, this was always going to be the easiest match at Euro 2020 for the Oranje.
To their credit, Memphis Depay and Georginio Wijnaldum decided to come to the party. The duo is the Netherlands’ main source of goals.
And despite each scoring once before Monday’s game, they have largely been quiet in the tournament. However, they both came to life against North Macedonia.
Depay was a lively presence up front and consistently terrorized his opponents, ending the game with a goal and two assists. Meanwhile, Wijnaldum put up a captain’s performance and had two goals to his name after 90 minutes.
Netherlands in a familiar position
The Netherlands may have won each of their last three group games, but they are yet to be really tested. None of the opponents they’ve faced so far can be considered a great team.
This means the Oranje are bound to face tougher competition from the round of 16 onwards. In 2008, they were in a similar position, having dominated their group, but they eventually fell to Russia in the first knockout round.
Earlier in the week, Ruud van Nistelrooy, an assistant coach within the Netherlands setup and a member of that 2008 team, spoke to the squad and warned them against becoming complacent.
“At the end of a meeting he [Van Nistelrooy] told them: ‘Now is the moment that you need to have the focus, that you do not give away too much. That you need to stay strong and maintain focus,’” Netherlands coach De Boer gave details of the meeting, as quoted by the Guardian.
“He had the same experience and in these type of moments you hope he stands up [to speak] and this is what he did. This is really important that the players can hear from a person who went through a similar situation and who they look up to.”
The Netherlands has been impressive so far, but the real work starts from here. Now they need to show their quality against tougher opposition in the knockout rounds.