Netherlands beats Ukraine in record-breaking second half at Euro 2020

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In an intriguing game between the Netherlands and Ukraine in Euro 2020 from Johan Cruijff ArenA in Amsterdam on Sunday, both teams combined for five goals in a 3-2 Netherlands win. The Group C game was significant because it was the first time ever in the history of the European Soccer Championships that no goals were scored in the first half and then five goals were scored in the second half.

Three different Oranje players scored for the Netherlands. Midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum of Rotterdam scored in the 52nd minute, striker Wout Weghorst of Borne scored in the 58th minute, and right-back Denzel Dumfries of Rotterdam scored the game-winning goal in the 85th minute to break a 2-2 deadlock. The Ukrainian goals came four minutes apart. Andriy Yarmolenko scored in the 75th minute and Roman Yaremchuk scored in the 79th minute.

The Ukrainian goals seemed to come out of nowhere. The Netherlands had all of the momentum over the first 70 minutes, and before long the game all of a sudden was deadlocked.

Then it did not take long for the Netherlands to retake their one-goal advantage. For Dumfries, who plays for PSV Eindhoven in the Netherlands, it was his first international goal for the Dutch in 20 international games. However, it was not Dumfries’s first international goal. Dumfries had previously scored the game-winning goal for Aruba in a 2-0 friendly win over Guam in 2014.

In other Euro 2020 action on Sunday. England beat Croatia 1-0 on a goal by Raheem Sterling of Manchester City from Wembley Stadium in London. Meanwhile, Austria beat North Macedonia 3-1 in Bucharest. This was the first ever European Soccer Championship game for North Macedonia, which became an official country in 2019.

Meanwhile, in other international soccer news, coronavirus has struck Copa America, which is currently taking place in Brazil. Twelve Venezuela players and three Bolivian players have already tested positive for the disease.

Photo Credit: Georginio Wijnaldum (Ailura, Creative Commons)

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