GAPKO STRIKE AND MALEN DOUBLE HELP DUTCH REACH EURO QUARTER-FINALS

Reuters 

 Netherlands' Cody Gakpo scored his third goal of the European Championship and substitute Donyell Malen added two more late on to defeat Romania 3-0 in their last-16 fixture as the Dutch burst back into form with a lively display on Tuesday.

They had been lambasted by their media and fans for a poor defensive display in their final group game, a 3-2 loss to Austria, but were more composed and in control as they reach the Euro quarter-finals for the first time since 2008.

The Dutch started slowly at the Munich Football Arena as underdogs Romania -- roared on by their yellow-clad supporters -- controlled the ball for the first quarter of an hour before the Netherlands slowly started to get a grip on the match.

They broke the deadlock after 20 minutes when player of the match Gakpo fired low past Florin Nita at the keeper's near post before Malen's late double clinched a quarter-final with Austria or Turkey, who play later on Tuesday, in Berlin on Saturday.

"This was the answer we had to our last performance - good game, good goals, we played good football," Gakpo said.

"Of course we could do better but a good showing after the last game. A good step in that next direction. We felt we were in control even though they were a dangerous opponent."

Reuters 

Gakpo was a menace all night and turned provider for Malen's first goal in the 83rd minute when he kept the ball in play on the touchline and knocked it across the box for an easy tap in.

Malen, who is the first Netherlands player to score in a Euro knockout match as a substitute, notched his second in stoppage time when he collected the ball in midfield, dribbled into the penalty area and fired past Nita as the Dutch served notice that they have started to click at the tournament.

Romania, who were forced into a first half substitution when Bogdan Racovitan came on in defence for Vasile Mogos after a collision, created few chances and never looked a serious threat as the Dutch controlled possession and waited to get forward.

Romania manager Edward Iordanescu had said his side, who topped Group E with four points, would need a near perfect performance but his players lacked the crispness and counter-attacking threat they displayed earlier in the tournament.

"We played well the first 15 to 20 minutes then their first goal came and it destabilised us to some extent," Romania defender Andrei Burca said. "We are disappointed, we wanted a lot from this match."

The Netherlands had two thirds of possession and almost five times more chances with 24 attempts in the game to underline their superiority as Virgil van Dijk struck the post with a header and Gakpo had a second effort ruled out for offside.

- Michael Kahn

ROMANIA STUN UKRAINE WITH FIRST EURO WIN IN 24 YEARS

Razvan Marin celebrates scoring Romania's second goal.

 Romania turned in a high-octane performance to win their first European Championship match in 24 years with an emphatic 3-0 victory over Ukraine in their Euro 2024 Group E opener on Monday.

Stunning long-range strikes in each half, one from captain and man of the match Nicolae Stanciu and the other from midfielder Razvan Marin, shocked Serhiy Rebrov's Ukraine, who had dominated the opening 20 minutes of the match.

Stanciu's cannon shot into the top right had corner gave Ukraine goalkeeper Andriy Lunin little chance. Lunin should have done better on the second, however, which slipped underneath him as he dove.

Rebrov's side paid dearly for their inability to convert their early possession into any real chances, as Romania soaked up the pressure and then struck on the counter after dispossessing Ukraine deep in their own half.

Before the match, Romania coach Edward Iordanescu said his players would fight for every metre on the pitch and they did just that, flying into tackles and racing all over the pitch to defend and launch counter attacks as their boisterous supporters roared them on.

The result was all but confirmed shortly before the hour mark when influential forward Dennis Man drove into the box from a corner and put the ball across goal for Denis Dragus to tap in.

Romania's tight-knit defence denied Ukraine any real sniff at goal, helping secure their country's second win across 17 matches at European Championships, the first being a 3-2 victory over England at Euro 2000.

For Iordanescu, whose father Anghel had three spells in charge of Romania and took them to the 1994 World Cup quarterfinals, the victory was a welcome gift for his birthday a day earlier and showed his side's unbeaten qualifying campaign may be no fluke.

"I'd like to thank every Romanian everywhere in the world. I know that they were with us today. It was a fantastic effort by my team," Iordanescu said after the game.

"If you had any doubts, I think you can believe me now that this is a great team. Congratulations to the lads. It's just incredible.

"Since I joined the national team I've had difficult moments. It's not always been easy. We've had other big performances. We've had golden generations with big performances, but this generation represents the soul. This team has put the biggest effort into everything. As big a heart as this team, nobody has ever had. This generation is limitless."

- Reuters