The knockout round of the European Football Championship takes place. Would you like to update your information on the top 16 teams in the tournament before the Round of 16 begins? The most important information about the match between the Netherlands and the Czech Republic on Sunday (6pm, TV: ARD, broadcast: MagentaTV, live video: SPIEGEL.de) can be found here.
What are the chances of the Dutch?
At the start of the tournament, Frank de Boer’s side was a big question mark, but with three wins in three, it became an exclamation point in the preliminary round. Eight strokes is the best value for any team in the group stage. Defensively, no real endurance test has taken place yet, but midfield designer Frenkie de Jong and the storm around Memphis Depay, newly signed by FC Barcelona, have made the Netherlands one of the favorites to win the title.
Which player will be important?
The full-back has been surprisingly straightforward so far: Denzel Dumfries interprets his role on the right in the five-man series so aggressively, that he is shot on goal more often in the group stage than strikers like Serge Gnabry, Harry Kane or Antoine Griezmann – and he has been. Already succeeded twice. With his dynamism, Dumfries repeatedly appears in the penalty area, especially when the ball is actually on the opposite left side and Dumfries can position himself to get a cross.
What else do you want to know?
The match will take place in Budapest – a plan that Elft captain Georginio Wijnaldum sees with concern. Recently, Frenchman Kylian Mbappe was racially insulted in Hungary by the ranks of monkey voices. “If that happens, then UEFA should step in,” Wijnaldum said. “You have to understand that if you don’t, you are placing a huge amount of responsibility on the players.” Wijnaldum will appear on the captain’s armband with “One Love” as an example against discrimination and exclusion.
What are the chances of the Czech Republic?
A safe win over the Scots, a respectable success in the draw against Croatia, a toothless appearance in the 0-1 win over England: The Czechs’ level of performance seems to be somewhere between the underdog and the surprising. Coach Jaroslav Zelavic modified his team well in a 4-2-3-1 system, both defensively and offensively, the Czechs can use their great physical strength well. Normally, football in the Netherlands is likely to be too fast for the Czech Republic.
Which player will be important?
Patrik Cech is currently superior to everything in the Czech national team. The Bayer Leverkusen striker has scored all three of his team’s goals so far, including the 45-metre goal against Scotland, which set a new European Championship long-distance goal record. Schick will again be the fixed point in the Czech attack, he has to confirm the balls against the Dutch defense around Matthijs de Ligt, pass them to his teammates and put himself last at the right moment.
What else do you want to know?
The Czechs sometimes have to be careful when the Dutch are looking for individual duels: De Jong and Depay in particular are among the tournament’s best dribblers. With an average of 13 successful dribbles per game, the Netherlands is the team that often leaves its opponents behind – meanwhile, no team left in the tournament has been dribbled more often than the Czech Republic (11.3 times).
