James Rowe’s Netherlands v Austria preview: Marten de Roon will be vitally important
Our Matchday Squad journalist will be covering the Netherlands throughout Euro 2020
After seven years away from a major international tournament, the excitement and anticipation was palpable in Amsterdam on Sunday afternoon ahead of their match with Ukraine. Amsterdam was covered in a sea of the colour orange.
A superb finish by Georginio Wijnaldum rounding off a swift move set the tone. I am delighted for Wout Weghorst who has taken the long way around to gaining international recognition with spells in the Netherlands with Heracles Almelo and AZ Alkmaar and he added to his tally of 20 goals for his current club VfL Wolfsburg this season by making his mark on an international tournament. Another key figure was Denzel Dumfries who headed home the winning goal in the 85th minute.
Frank De Boer when speaking after the game insisted that his substitutes were calculated in particular in the case of Patrick van Aanholt.
Attention now turns to a very impressive Austria team under the guidance of a very studious and astute manager in Franco Foda. The Netherlands will look to build on their three points in their second game in Amsterdam on Thursday. I believe the marshalling skills of Marten de Roon will be vitally important in this game and my prediction is a 1-1 draw.
