The Dutch under-nineteen football players have qualified for the semi-finals of the European Championship in Romania. Oranje won against Norway (2-0) on Tuesday, securing a place in the last four.
The Netherlands stunned on Saturday with a 3-0 victory over Germany, giving coach Peter van der Veen’s team a good starting position to reach the semi-finals. The European Championship consists of only eight countries.
The second group match also went well for the Netherlands, although it took a while before Oranje broke the deadlock against the Norwegians. It wasn’t until after an hour of play that they scored for the first time. AZ talent Kees Smit scored after a nice feint. Don-Angelo Konadu of Ajax determined the final score at 2-0.
Despite the victory, the Netherlands is not yet sure of winning Group B. England, who will be Oranje’s third and final opponent in the group stage on Friday, can theoretically still become group winner. England, which has one point, must win against Germany tonight.
Winning the group is important because the runner-up in the group will otherwise play against reigning European champion Spain on Monday. The Spaniards are already certain of winning a group with Denmark, Montenegro and host country Romania.
For coach Van der Veen, the European Championship is his last job as coach of the Netherlands under nineteen years. The 52-year-old Rotterdam will be one of the two assistants to Paul Simonis at his new club VfL Wolfsburg. He has been with the KNVB for two years.