STAY SHARP, URGES KOEMAN

Coach hails Dutch performance in 3-0 win, demands more of the same to reach final

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MUNICH Netherlands need to maintain the performance level they showed in a 3-0 win over Romania in the last 16 at Euro 2024 on July 2 if they are to claim the title, said coach Ronald Koeman, who added that their yo-yo form was hard to explain.

Goals from Cody Gakpo and substitute Donyell Malen, who scored twice, sealed a dominant victory for the Dutch, who could have added more goals at the Allianz Arena in Munich.

It was a far cry from the dismal display in their last fixture, a 3-2 defeat by Austria in their final group match on June 25. After that match, captain Virgil van Dijk slammed his team, saying they were missing the "will to win".

"It is sometimes difficult to say why you play bad in one game and then can reach a high level the next match," Koeman said.

"We were sharp from the beginning today and that made the difference. Maybe one critical point is that it took too long to score the second goal."

However, right-back Denzel Dumfries said his side were "not nervous" despite failing to break through with a number of chances.

"No, we were not nervous. We know our quality, we know we can score," he said.