It was the scene of this clash of titans: on one side, an eerie defense in England that had twice gone without conceding a goal in the group stage, while on the other side, the Netherlands, a three-point attacking force. The highly anticipated England vs Netherlands match on Tuesday night lived up to the hype, delivering a thrilling 2-2 draw that left both sides with mixed emotions.
Cautious Start to The England vs Netherlands Match
The first few minutes of the game at the Estadio D. Afonso Henriques were very cold. England, man-marked in the gaze of their coach Gareth Southgate, started cautiously by holding their shape and not allowing the Dutch to forge any attack. It was working well as the Netherlands was finding it tough to breach England’s Backline, which was well organized.
It was in the 27th minute when the game turned around. An outrageous challenge from central defender John Stones of England on Memphis Depay eventually saw him handed a yellow card and a free kick from a dangerous position. Left to Depay, whose virtues remain in dead balls, he stepped up to rifle in a curling effort that may have gone off the crossbar, sending a shiver down the spine of England.
The Dutch kept at it for an opening, and persistence finally paid in the 38th minute. Intelligent running from Denzel Dumfries on the right fringe allowed him to get at the end of Frenkie de Jong’s pinpoint cross. Dumfries rose above his marker and powerfully headed past England’s goalkeeper Jordan Pickford to give the Netherlands a well-deserved lead.
England’s Fight Back
England came out in the second half like a new team, really, reinvigorated. A tactical change by Southgate: he brought on Phil Foden, a much more attacking player, for Jordan Henderson, who was playing in a holding role. Anyway, the impact of that substitution was immediate.
All of a sudden, nice dribbling and passing moves, with Foden at the heart of them, injected life into the English attack, flustering the Dutch defense, and the payback came finally on 62 minutes. With an avalanche surge that started from Foden, ending at the edge of the midfield, the ball ended up coming right to the feet of Harry Kane at the edge of the area.
Kane with a beautifully cushioned touch found Bukayo Saka, darting forward, with an equally sublime reception in behind, courtesy of the weight behind the pass. Saka, with composure in his tight spaces, looked up and drilled a low drive that whipped past the curtains of a diving Cillessen in the Netherlands goal for an equalizer at 1-1.
Dramatic Ending to The England vs Netherlands match
The England vs Netherlands match rolled on with much intensity. The action had flowed end-to-end, with both teams trading chances, in which Pickford was forced to make a critical stop, denying Steven Bergwijn in the 78th minute. Just when it felt the game would finish 1-1 after 90 minutes, some controversy unfolded in the 85th minute.
Then the scramble for the ball in the England penalty area from a cross, and in the midst of all that, Dutch striker Cody Gakpo went over John Stones, and a penalty was given to the Netherlands. The decision completely upset the England camp and fans, and replays showed hardly any contact. De Pay from the penalty spot struck a cool shot without any bother to bring the Netherlands back into the lead.
But England would not accept defeat. They made a relentless charge in the dying minutes and, in the 93rd minute, finally the efforts seemed to have paid off. A pinpoint cross from Shaw located Maguire, and the defender rose majestically and thumped the ball into the net, sending the home crowd at Wembley into a frenzy.
An electrifying encounter, England vs Netherlands, ended 2-2 tonight after the final whistle was blown. The game was displayed with tactical achievements from the two managers: Gareth Southgate and Louis van Gaal. It was a combination of defensive prowess for England and Foden’s attacking impetus in the second half. The Netherlands were not left out; they also demonstrated attacking intent when Depay and Gakpo proved to be a handful.
Although both groups will finish with mixed emotions; the game that was of the match between England vs Netherlands was an enthralling mix of attacking and defensive football, a salient reminder here that at this level, it’s all about the winning; it leaves absolutely everything to play for in the group stage finale.
