GROUP C
Netherlands 3-0 Ukraine
Blind 5'
de Ligt 12'
Depay 41'
Tom Quinn
Johan Cruyff Arena, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Sunday 14th June
Discussion in the build up to the beginning of the Netherlands’ first appearance in major tournament football since 2014 has been overshadowed in recent weeks by the government’s decision to temporarily suspend the country’s liberalised drug laws for non-residents. The travelling Ukrainian support, already significantly less mellow than they may have hoped, could have been forgiven for wondering if their defence had somehow managed to get their hands on some of Amsterdam’s finest during a calamitous first half display that left the visitors 3-0 down.
Dutch head coach Ronald Koeman had faced criticism in the hour before kick off after naming a side that contained three centre backs and two holding midfielders against a team many expected them to beat comfortably. His selection was immediately justified in a breathtaking opening salvo that saw his side take a two-goal lead inside twelve minutes. It will not have been lost on anyone that both goals came from his conservative back line.
In the fifth minute Daley Blind scrambled the ball over the line after Ukraine goalkeeper Andriy Pyatov spilled a corner into the path of the Ajax man. Seven minutes later Matthijs de Ligt sent a thumping header past Pyatov from Frenkie de Jong’s whipped delivery. To say de Ligt was left in oceans of room leaves one at risk of downplaying the ineptitude of the defending or making oceans seem quite a lot larger than they really are.
Ukraine were visibly stunned but managed to steady themselves in the fifteen minutes that followed. With manager Andriy Shevchenko bellowing instructions from the sidelines, Ruslan Malinovsky and Taras Stepanenko were able to exert some measure of authority in the midfield and prevent a total collapse. Oleksandr Zinchenko was busy out wide but unable to produce in front of goal as he sent a few tame efforts wide of Jasper Cillessen’s goal.
The presence of de Ligt and Virgil van Dijk at the heart of the Dutch defence seemed to sap the life out of Ukraine’s attacks before they had really even begun. The closest Shevchenko’s men came to a genuine goalscoring opportunity was in the 32nd minute when Cillessen played an errant pass in the direction of Joel Veltman that Yehven Konoplyanka was able to cut out. Seemingly wary of de Ligt’s covering charge towards him, Konoplyanka hurried a chipped effort which floated harmlessly over the bar with Cillessen stranded out of goal.
Ten minutes later the game was all but over when Memphis Depay rifled in from the edge of the area after some excellent hold-up work from Ryan Babel. The former Liverpool and Fulham man was able to chest down van Dijk’s drilled forward pass and hold off the attention of Serhii Kryvstov long enough to play the ball into the path of the onrushing Depay whose strike nestled in the bottom corner beyond the despairing dive of Pyatov. Shevchenko cut a forlorn figure on the touchline and seemed resigned to defeat in his managerial tournament bow.
At half time there was talk of how many the Netherlands could rack up but the second half produced none of the excitement of the first. It was a measured and controlled performance from the Dutch midfield especially. Georginio Wijnaldum shielded the ball masterfully from all and sundry while Marten de Roon’s energetic display went some way towards silencing certain voices that claimed he had no business playing at this level.
Shevchenko too will take some heart from the fact that the scoreline did not worsen and that his players did not bow to the pressure rolling down from the stands in the Johan Cruyff Arena. The lively Dutch fans are sure to be a huge advantage for Koeman’s side as the tournament progresses. How far his side goes remains to be seen but on this showing they will be a force to be reckoned with.
Man of the match: Matthijs de Ligt
Netherlands: Cillessen; Veltman (Dumfries 90’), de Ligt, van Dijk, Blind; de Jong, de Roon, Wijnaldum, van de Beek (Bergwijn 67’), Depay (Promes 82’); Babel (4-5-1)
Ukraine: Pyatov; Karavaev, Kryvstov, Matvienko, Mykolenko; Stepanenko, Malinovskiy, Zinchenko; Tsygankov, Yaremchuk (Marlos 61’), Konoplyanka (Yarmolenko 69’) (4-3-3)
Attendance: 53,598