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The Czech Republic won an impressive 2-0 victory over the Netherlands to reach the quarter-finals of Euro 2020 on Sunday.
Thomas Holz and Patrick Schick scored in the second half to advance to a confrontation with Denmark in Baku next Saturday for a place in the semi-finals.
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The Netherlands faced an uphill battle after Matthijs de Ligt received a straight red card at the start of the second half for denying him the chance to score.
The Czechs qualified for the quarter-finals for the first time since Euro 2012.
“Of course, it’s a bad feeling,” emotional de Ligt told NOS TV after the match. “We lost the match mainly because of what I did.
“In hindsight, I shouldn’t have let the ball bounce. We were in control before that and I feel responsible.”
It was a miserable end for the Netherlands, who were participating in the tournament’s first knockout match since the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
It was a slow start to the game with the Czechs getting their first chance after 23 minutes when Tomas Socic’s header crossed the post.
The Czech Republic scored twice in the second half to score a stunning victory over the Netherlands. GT
Cech had a better chance after 34 minutes, but De Ligt saved a stunning foul to deny Lukas Masopest from close range.
Holland almost grabbed the lead just before the break when Memphis found Debye Patrick van Anholt inside the area but failed to score.
Donyell Malen had a brilliant chance to open the scoring seven minutes into the second half but was unable to turn around Czech goalkeeper Tomas Vaclic.
The Netherlands found themselves moments later than 10 men after the long-running VAR referee ruled De Ligt to deny Schech the opportunity to score with a handball outside the penalty area.
It was the first time a Dutch player received a red card at the European Championship since John Hettinga against the Czechs in 2004.
The Czechs took the lead in the 68th minute when Thomas Kallas got the end of the free kick and Holes climbed to score at the back post.
With 10 minutes left in the match, the Czechs counterattacked and Holz passed Scheke to convert it from inside the penalty area.
“They were the favorites in this match,” said Halls. “It’s an unreal feeling to beat such a team 2-0.”
“They were better with the ball, we suffered, but thanks to the performance of our team, we didn’t give them much space.”
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