Gakpo & Malen lead the charge as Netherlands reign supreme over Romania at Euro Round of 16 clash

With a 3-0 victory over Romania on Tuesday, the Netherlands advanced to their first quarterfinal in the European Championship in sixteen years, making history. A number of previous opportunities for the Dutch to extend their lead had been wasted, and skipper Virgil van Dijk also hit the woodwork. Even so, it was a far better performance than their dismal group stage showing, which resulted in a 3-2 loss to Austria. The Dutch advanced to their first quarterfinal in the competition since 2008 when Cody Gakpo broke the tie in the 20th minute and Donyell Malen scored two goals in the closing moments.

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Netherlands reign supreme! Seal a 2-0 win over Romania to bag the quarterfinals spot

Up to Gakpo's goal, Romania had the better of the possession, but they never put the Netherlands' custodian, Bart Verbruggen, to the test. Rather, Xavi Simons' offensive push and subsequent find of Gakpo on the left caused the opening goal. The attacker from Liverpool manoeuvred around the blue-haired Andrei Rațiu and struck the near bottom corner with a shot. 

The Dutch appeared more confident after scoring, and they had more opportunities to increase their lead. Six minutes later, Stefan De Vrij was given a free header on a corner, and a sizable portion of their orange-clad supporters thought they had scored again when he put it just wide of the right post, rippling the side-netting. Memphis Depay was denied a tap-in by a goal-saving tackle from Radu Drăguşin, as the Netherlands edged even closer to doubling their advantage on halftime.

When Bogdan Racovițan cleared Depay's attempt off the line and it bounced off teammate Marius Marin, Romania came dangerously close to scoring, but the ball ended up in the hands of custodian Florin Niță. Additionally, Van Dijk witnessed a header miss the right post. 

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After having a goal disallowed for offside in the second half, Gakpo made amends seven minutes into the game when, despite pressure from Drăgușin, he just managed to keep the ball in play and prod it back from the byline for Malen to poke home. And in stoppage time, Simons set up Malen for a breakaway run from the midway line, and the Dutch finished off a commanding display by slipping past Niță.

If Austria defeats Turkey in the final round, there may be a rapid rematch on Saturday in Berlin, giving the Netherlands an opportunity for immediate retribution.

(With AP Inputs)