Euro 2020: Dumfries gives Netherlands dramatic 3-2 win over Ukraine
Updated On: 14 June, 2021 07:45 AM IST | Amsterdam | AFP
Captain Georginio Wijnaldum and Wout Weghorst both scored before the hour mark at the Johan Cruyff Arena, only for Andriy Yarmolenko and Roman Yaremchuk to briefly restore parity for Ukraine.
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Netherlands` defender Denzel Dumfries celebrates after scoring the third goal during the UEFA EURO 2020 Group C football match between the Netherlands and Ukraine at the Johan Cruyff Arena in Amsterdam. Pic/AFP
Denzel Dumfries scored a dramatic late winner as the Netherlands marked their long-awaited return to a major tournament with a 3-2 victory over Ukraine in a remarkable Euro 2020 game in Amsterdam on Sunday. Dumfries, the PSV Eindhoven full-back, headed in a cross from substitute Nathan Ake to complete a madcap second half after the home side eased into a two-goal lead and then threw it away. Captain Georginio Wijnaldum and Wout Weghorst both scored before the hour mark at the Johan Cruyff Arena, only for Andriy Yarmolenko and Roman Yaremchuk to briefly restore parity for Ukraine. Frank de Boer`s side got there in the end and the victory provides a major lift to the Netherlands after their first game at a major competition in seven years.
"I thought we were very balanced and dominated the game so we would like to see the same again going forward. We can be proud," insisted De Boer. They will now hope to build on it on Thursday against Austria, who beat North Macedonia earlier in the same Group C. It was a brilliant game, and a crowd of around 16,000 created an atmosphere fit for the occasion at the home of Ajax, where supporters held up banners with messages of support for Christian Eriksen following the Denmark star`s cardiac arrest on Saturday. Eriksen played for Ajax before moving to Tottenham Hotspur in 2013 and several Dutch players remain close to the midfielder. Defender Daley Blind played with him in Amsterdam and needed heart surgery himself in 2019 after being diagnosed with myocarditis. He was in tears as he was substituted in the second half. "Daley was quite emotional because he had some problems with his own heart," De Boer said.
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