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In the 80th minute, when Patrik Schick bundled home the Czech Republic’s second goal, the game and Euro 2020 was clearly over for the Netherlands.
The Bayer Leverkusen forward’s performance at Euro 2020 is a reflection of what the entire Czech Republic team and their coach are.
They arrived at the tournament as underdogs but they’ve proved everyone wrong. Jaroslav Silhavy’s side were unbeaten in a group containing England, Croatia and Scotland.
Even better, they’ve now advanced to the quarter-finals of the tournament after yet another impressive win over the Netherlands.
Czech Republic hand Netherlands Euro 2020 blow
One of the biggest mistakes a team can make in football is to underestimate their opponent. For some reason, that seemed to be the case when the Dutch took on the Czech Republic.
However, after a quarter of an hour, it was evident that Frank De Boer’s side were in for a tough afternoon. After half-time, it was clear that the Czechs were not here to just play but to win the game.
Their aim was aided by the madness of Matthijs de Ligt, who got himself sent off seven minutes after the restart following a handball.
Tomas Holes opened the scoring for the Czechs with a back-post header, before the midfielder turned provided to set up Schick to make it 2-0.
Silhavy’s team have been a real revelation in Euro 2020 and their results can no longer be considered flukes. They’ve been that good.
The Czech Republic haven’t always been heavyweights in international football but they’ve now reach the quarter-finals of the European Championships four times in the last seven tournaments.
The above statistic suggests they’re one of the most consistent sides in the competition. And having beaten the Netherlands, the Czechs now have the world at their feet.
"I am really proud of my team. We have defeated a great opponent - all of my players were tactically excellent. I am glad we achieved it in front of so many of our fans,” Silhavy said, as quoted by Sky Sports.
"I think the result speaks for itself. The changes in our starting line-up proved to be the right ones. All three new players showed why they are here with us and played an excellent game."
The Czech Republic were the losing finalists at Euro 96. Only time will tell if they’ll be able to reach such heights at Euro 2020. But for now, though, their adventure continues.
