Holesome win for the Czechs
Budapest, June 27: The Czech Republic reached the Euro 2020 quarterfinals on Sunday after shocking 10-man Netherlands 2-0 in their
Last-16 tie in Budapest thanks to second-half strikes by Tomas Holes and Patrik Schick.
A header by Holes and clinical finish by Schick came after Matthijs de Ligt was sent off in the
55th minute, securing the efficient Czechs a deserved berth in the last eight against Denmark in Baku on July 3.
Having emerged as Group ‘C’ winners with a
100 per cent record after playing all three of their games in Amsterdam, Frank de Boer’s fancied Netherlands were on the road for the first time in the tournament.
Roared on by boisterous ranks of orange-clad fans in a packed Puskas Arena, the only Euro 2020 venue not to limit stadium capacity as an anti-coronavirus precaution, it was the livelier Dutch who dominated the opening exchanges.
Early in the second period the advantage swung decisively the Czechs way when De Ligt was sent off by the Russian referee Sergei Karasev after a VAR review.
Schick, scorer of all three Czech goals in the group stage, put De Ligt under pressure, prompting the defender to blatantly knock the ball away with his hand to deny a goalscoring opportunity.
Then on 68 minutes, a curled free-kick from the right by Barak was headed across goal by Tomas Kalas to the unmarked Holes who had time to place his header and spark bedlam among Czech fans.
Ten minutes from the end Schick sealed the win with his fourth goal of Euro 2020, slotting home with his left foot at the near post after the rampant Holes pounced on a loose ball and laid on a clever cut-back.