Euro 2020 Group C takeaways: Perfect Netherlands win group as Austria slip by Ukraine into second
Netherlands #Netherlands
The Netherlands have topped 2020 UEFA European Championship Group C with maximum points after a 3-0 thrashing of North Macedonia in Amsterdam as talismanic veteran Goran Pandev signed off at international level.
Austria are also through after their 1-0 victory over Ukraine in Bucharest secured second place behind the Dutch and forces Andriy Shevchenko’s men to wait to discover their fate with the other third-placed teams.
Memphis Depay and a Georginio Wijnaldum double was enough to secure a comfortable success against North Macedonia at Johan Cruyff Arena for Frank de Boer’s men as the new Paris Saint-Germain signing continues his hot streak in front of goal with three goals from three outings.
North Macedonia’s Euro adventure ends in disappointment with Pandev exiting the international scene and very possibly hanging up his boots and coach Igor Angelovski also set to depart now that the tournament is over with a heavy return of eight goals against, two scored and zero points.
Austria got over their loss to the Netherlands in the second group game to see off Ukraine by a solitary goal in an important win that guarantees progression as one of the top two with Christoph Baumgartner getting the only goal at Arena Nationala.
The Ukrainians will be disappointed that their prolific touch deserted them in the final match after four goals from their opening two games against the Dutch and then North Macedonia which suggested they would claim second spot.
Instead, Shevchenko and his players join Switzerland in the group of third-place finishers and already look like they will face an uphill task to make it once all of the groups have finished with Portugal and Finland more favorably placed with a game in hand.
While Oranje await the outcome of the third-placed lottery to discover their opponent, Austria know that they will face neighbors Italy at Wembley Stadium in London as they make their first foray into the knockout phase of a European Championship.
De Boer will need to ensure that his players keep things tight after two straight clean sheets followed their narrow 3-2 win over Ukraine but their firepower going forward should be too much for almost all third-placed sides in Budapest.
While it is a shame to lose the feelgood story of North Macedonia and potentially lose Ukraine as well, the Dutch were worthy group winners and Austria showed character to bounce back from their loss in Amsterdam to claim second place.
Wijnaldum, Depay and Denzel Dumfries are certainly three of the players to have caught the eye so far while Andriy Yarmolenko and Roman Yaremchuk also displayed their prowess in front of goal with some delightful strikes.
Marko Arnautovic of Austria provided one of the more controversial Group C moments with his comments after scoring against North Macedonia which landed him a one-game ban and likely influenced his nation’s loss to the Netherlands.
Oranje have benefitted from their host status so far but will now leave home soil for Romania and that loss of home support could impact De Boer’s men and their performances with some big names potentially looking a third-placed finishes.