The Netherlands’ U19 team had a perfect group stage at the Under-19 European Championships in Romania. They won their last game 4-2 against England, which meant England had to go home.
Before that, the Dutch team had already won all their games — 3-0 against Germany and 2-0 against Norway. So, their last game against England was mostly to finish in first place.
England, on the other hand, had two draws. They tied 2-2 with Norway and had an exciting 5-5 draw with Germany after coming back from being 5-1 down.
England’s team tried hard to get an important second goal that could have helped them get to the semi-finals. Finally, in the 93rd minute, Jesse Derry from Crystal Palace scored to make it 4-2 for the Netherlands, but a late German goal basically ended England’s chances.
This made people think again about what Gary Lineker said: “Football is a simple game. Twenty-two men chase a ball for 90 minutes, and at the end, the Germans always win.”
The Netherlands finished with all nine points and will play Romania, the host country, in the semi-finals on Monday. England’s disappointing run ended after they gave up 11 goals in three games.
