In a gripping encounter at Berlin's Olympiastadion, Austria secured a dramatic 3-2 victory against the Netherlands, propelling them into the knockout stage of Euro 2024 as the top team in Group D.
The match kicked off with Austrian forward Donyell Malen inadvertently scoring an own goal in the sixth minute, giving Austria an early lead. The Dutch responded swiftly as first-half substitute Xavi Simons assisted Cody Gakpo, leveling the score just two minutes after halftime.
Austria regained the advantage in the 59th minute when Romano Schmid headed the team back in front. The Netherlands, undeterred, saw Memphis Depay equalize in the 75th minute with a stunning finish. Despite a VAR review that confirmed no foul was committed, the Dutch persisted, ultimately falling short.
Marcel Sabitzer delivered the decisive blow with a powerful strike from a challenging angle in the 77th minute, sealing Austria's triumphant 3-2 win. This victory ends Austria's seven-game losing streak against the Netherlands, including a previous group-stage defeat in the last tournament.
Celebrations erupted among Austrian fans as they chanted \"Group winners\" under the warm evening sky, while Dutch supporters in vibrant orange awaited the outcomes of other group matches to determine their next opponent. Austria now looks ahead to facing one of the second-place finishers from Group F—Türkiye, Georgia, or the Czech Republic—in Leipzig on Tuesday.
Sabitzer reflected on the win, stating, \"If you beat the Netherlands and finish first in the group, then you can't be so bad. The top priority for us was to progress and we managed that. Now we need to bring it down a bit, get the heads clear and then we'll attack again.\"
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Austria beat Netherlands 3-2 to reach knockout stage of Euro 2024
cgtn.com
