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#9 Wim Kieft vs Ireland, Euro 1988 Group Stage
The Dutch easily qualified for Euro 1988 and were placed in a group consisting of Republic of Ireland, England and Soviet Union. The Netherlands had high expectations for Euro 1988 as they had a star-studded lineup that included the likes of Ruud Gullit, Frank Rijkaard, Marco van Basten and Ronald Koeman. However, Netherlands began their tournament poorly, losing their opener against the Soviet Union 1-0. The Dutch bounced back in their next game and beat England 3-1 courtesy of a van Basten hattrick.
In their final group game, Netherlands had to beat Republic of Ireland, one of the tournament’s surprise packages. For them, a draw would salvage them a spot in the semifinals. The match was goalless for most of the time until the 82nd minute.
A shot by Ronald Koeman found the head of Wim Kieft whose glancing header bounced past Irish goalkeeper Packie Bonner. It turned out to be the winner and Ireland were out. Netherlands qualified for the semifinals and Kieft’s goal turned out to be a priceless one as The Oranje won Euro 1988.
