Netherlands 2-1 Austria
Netherlands booked their spot in the last 16 of the 2020 European Championship with a match to spare after defeating Austria 2-0 in Group C on Thursday evening.
The Dutch made only change, as Matthijs De Ligt recovered from injury to start, with Memphis Depay and Wout Weghorst leading the front line while Austria striker Marko Arnautovic served a one-match ban for insulting a North Macedonian player.
The Oranje had a bright start and were awarded a penalty in the tenth minute that was struck home with power by Depay after the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) spotted that David Alaba brought down Denzel Dumfries in the box.
Georginio Wijnaldum also had an opportunity to make it 2-0 just before the break after receiving a cut-back unmarked inside the box but his side-footed shot was blocked.
The opening exchanges of the second stanza did not produce a lot of goal-mouth action but the game came to life again on the hour-mark after Stefan de Vrij came close to doubling the lead for the Oranje with a free header that was saved by goalkeeper Daniel Bachmann before De Ligt's strike from the rebound was blocked from point blank range.
De Boer made a triple change immediately after that, as Nathan Ake replaced Daley Blind at the back, Donyell Malen replaced Weghorst for fresh legs upfront and Owen Wijndal replaced Patrick van Aanholt for defensive solidity at left-back.
The Oranje' substitutions had an instant impact, as Austria were punished for playing a high line in the 67th minute after Depay released Malen clear on goal and the 22-year old forward unselfishly played a square pass that was tapped home by Dumfries.
Austria were desperate to get back into the game, with Alaba pushing forward and he came close to pulling a goal back in the last ten minutes with a cracking strike that was heading towards the top corner but missed just wide, but two goals were enough to send the Dutch to the knockout round.
Denmark 1-2 Belgium
Kevin de Bruyne came off the bench to bag a goal and an assist as Belgium defeated Denmark to qualify for the EURO 2020 knockout stages.
Denmark had the perfect start after Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg pounced on a loose pass out of defence by Jason Denayer in the second minute and threaded a through ball towards Yussuf Poulsen, who fired a low strike into the bottom corner.
In the emotional opening exchanges, there was a pause in the tenth minute, with both set of players and fans giving a standing ovation for a minute in honour of Eriksen, who wears jersey number ten for his national team and Belgium struggled to settle in the game.
Damsgaard had a chance to double the lead ten minutes before the break after going on a run inside the box but his side-footed shot missed the bottom corner by a whisker.
To get all your Soccer Tips for the Euro Soccer10 Pools click on the link.
Martinez made a tactical change at half-time, bringing on De Bruyne in place of Dries Mertens and the Manchester City midfielder had an immediate impact as he setup Thorgan Hazard to tap-in the equaliser ten minutes from the break with a square pass after a through ball by Romelu Lukaku.
With the game was opening up , De Bruyne gave the Red Devils the lead in the last 20 minutes with a peach of first-time low strike on the far side of the box after a superb passing move.
Martin Braithwaite came close for Hjulmand's men in the last three minutes with a header that came off the top corner of the crossbar but the Red Devils held on to seal a place in the last 16.
Check out all the home kits that will be on display at EURO 2020!
