Holland's win left the Netherlands with a troubled attacking lineup. The presence or absence of a striker made a big difference on the day: the Netherlands' strikers.
The Netherlands national soccer team defeated Poland 2-1 in their UEFA Euro 2024 Group D first leg match at the Hamburg Arena in Germany on Saturday at 10 p.m. ET.
The matchup pitted the Netherlands, who are the favorites in the "Group of Death" alongside France, against Poland, who need to somehow slip through the cracks to reach the round of 16. The odds were even stacked in favor of the Dutch, as Poland were without their top European striker and main gun, Robert Lewandowski (FC Barcelona), who was on the bench with a quadriceps injury and was a doubt for the day.
As expected, it was the Netherlands who took the lead from the opening whistle. Poland sat back and defended well, looking for counterattacks and set pieces.
It seemed like Poland couldn't find their footing, but they eventually got the breakthrough they were looking for. In the 16th minute, Poland captain Piotr Zielinski sent in a corner kick from the left side that forward Adam Buksa raced to the near post to head home. Poland took a lightning 1-0 lead.
It was a huge boost for the Poles, as Lewandowski's absence up front was replaced by Buksa.
Not to be outdone, the Netherlands capitalized on a Polish mistake to equalize. In the 29th minute, Dutch left fullback Nathan Ake stole the ball on the left side of the field and striker Cody Hakpo picked it up, dribbled to the center and fired a right-footed mid-range shot. The ball deflected off a Polish defender and caught 먹튀검증 Poland goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny off guard, and the ball rattled the right post to tie the game 1-1 in favor of the Netherlands.
Just when it looked like the game would end in a draw, the tall Dutch striker Butt Behhorst, who came on as a substitute, made things happen. In the 38th minute of the second half, a penetrating pass from the left flank into the Polish box was finished powerfully with his left foot for a 2-1 lead. In the end, the Netherlands held off Poland to take all three points in their first match of the Group of Death.
The Netherlands used Cody Hackford (Liverpool), Memphis Depay (Atletico Madrid), and Xavi Simons (Leipzig) in their attacking lineup.
All three players play for big clubs in the big four leagues, but have been disappointing in terms of goals, with 8 goals, 5 assists, and 8 goals and 13 assists in the league, respectively. Hakpo scored the goal on this occasion, but against the weaker Polish side, the Dutch were less than convincing with only three shots on target in the first half despite taking 13 shots on goal.
The Netherlands were unable to take the lead despite the barrage of shots, but substitute Behorst was able to find the back of the net and win the game. Coincidentally, it was a day where having a striker made the difference for the Netherlands.
