© AFP
53 thousand fans gathered at the Budapest stadium witnessed one of the biggest sensations of this championship with their own eyes - disciplined Czechs defeating the Netherlands representatives who had scored 8 goals in the group stage. Despite scoring 8 goals in the group stage and winning all the matches, the Netherlands could not hit a single shot on target against the Czechs. After 55 minutes of play, Netherlands defender Matthijs de Ligt received a red card and was sent off the field, leaving the Netherlands national team in a numerical disadvantage, needing to pull two goals back into their own net and send opponents' balls into the goal. Netherlands national team coach F. de Boer commented after the match: "We played against strong opponents, but until our player received a red card, I believed we were the better team. We had problems finding our attackers on the field and lacked that finishing touch in attack. The exit from the championship in the quarterfinals is a big disappointment."
"At the beginning of the match, let's call it that, we had problems with the Czech pressure. Especially on the right flank, but after 5 or 6 minutes we regained initiative and control. I felt that if we had moved better in attack, we would have created more space and posed a greater threat to the Czech goal. We talked about it during the break and went out onto the field ready to do it."
"After the Czechs scored their first goal... You know, the world turned upside down for us. We wanted to hold the 0-0 draw a little longer so that we could make the necessary small changes and adapt to them. After scoring the second goal, they 'took the driver's seat' and controlled the situation."
"I would also like to congratulate the Czechs - the result is fantastic and I wish them the greatest success in this championship," concluded the coach.
