Euro 2024: Dutch need a point to advance while Austria needs a win
The Netherlands needs a point from its final group game Tuesday against Austria to be sure of reaching the knockout stage of the European Championship, while Austria needs a win. The Dutch team has been supported by tens of thousands of orange-clad fans in Hamburg and Leipzig for its two games so far, and now they take their bright party to Berlin, where the final will be played next month. Perhaps a rehearsal? Kickoff is at 6 p.m. local (1600 GMT). Here’s what to know about the match:
Match facts
— Both the Netherlands and France have four points in Group D, one ahead of Austria, while Poland has no points and was the first team eliminated. France is playing Poland in their final group game at the same time.
— The Dutch have a good record against Austria and will hope to make it eight wins in a row including a group stage victory over Austria in the last edition of the tournament.
— The game will be played in Berlin’s Olympiastadion. It will be the Netherlands’ first game in the stadium built under the Nazis for the 1936 Olympics.
— Austria hasn’t beaten the Oranje since a 3-2 victory in a friendly in Vienna in 1990. The Dutch won both their previous competitive meetings — at the 1978 World Cup and Euro 2020.
— The Netherlands started Euro 2024 by defeating Poland 2-1 thanks to a late goal from Wout Weghorst, then held France to the first and so far only goalless draw in the tournament. France missed a host of chances to score, while Xavi Simons had a goal ruled out through VAR, much to Dutch coach Ronald Koeman’s annoyance.
— Koeman helped the Netherlands win Euro ’88 as a player when West Germany hosted the tournament. He’s now in his second stint as national team coach.
— Under German coach Ralf Rangnick, Austria lost only one of its 10 qualifying games for Euro 2024, to Belgium 3-2. It was the team’s only defeat last year.
— Austria opened Euro 2024 with a 1-0 loss to France, then defeated Poland 3-1.
Team news
— Austria defender Gernot Trauner is out. Rangnick said the 32-year-old will “probably” miss the next game, too, should Austria progress.
— Netherlands counterpart Koeman said Joshua Zirkzee had a fever on Sunday and they would decide on Tuesday morning if the forward is fit enough for the substitutes' bench. Zirkzee hasn't featured yet at the tournament. “No further complaints,” Koeman said.
By the numbers
— The Oranje won half of the teams’ previous 20 meetings, while Austria won six and there were four draws.
— Austria had never won a match at a Euros until it won two — over North Macedonia and Ukraine — at the last edition. The win over Poland was its third tournament win.
What they’re saying
“We’re playing against an opponent that individually is equally good as France. They don’t have quite as many top players, but still many top players. If you look at Holland, the players that haven’t played at all yet or have only played a few minutes, they’re all international top-class players and they have great individual quality and they’re always trying to find some good solutions. So, we don’t want to allow them that. And in order to have those situations ourselves where we control the game, we need to have a top performance.” — Austria coach Ralf Rangnick.
“We have a good team with many different qualities, and I think we’re hard to beat. But we have to keep showing that.” — Netherlands forward Cody Gakpo.
"We're just trying to be first in the group. That’s what we want. It will be a tough match, because Austria is certainly not to be underestimated. We will have to be very good and concentrated in our possession.” — Netherlands coach Ronald Koeman.
___
AP Euro 2024: https://apnews.com/hub/euro-2024
Austria
