Czechs stun 10-man Dutch to book quarter-final berth

BUDAPEST: Striker Patrik Schick scored his fourth goal of the tournament as the Czech Republic stunned 10-man Netherlands with a deserved 2-0 victory in their Euro 2020 last-16 clash in front of 56,000 fans at the Puskas Arena on Sunday.

The Czechs created the better chances against their more fancied opponents in the frenzied atmosphere and booked a quarter-final meeting with Denmark in Baku on Saturday when Tomas Holes headed in at the back post in the 68th minute after Tomas Kalas had steered the ball into his path.

Holes then turned provider as he set up Schick for a second, the striker slotting the ball coolly past veteran Dutch goalkeeper Maarten Steke­lenburg to continue his dream tournament.

The Dutch challenge was dealt a blow on 55 minutes when centre back Matthijs De Ligt received a red card for a handball just outside his own box. He was initially given a yellow card, but referee Sergei Karasev changed his mind after a Video Assistant Referee check.

ITALY SEE OFF BATTLING AUSTRIA

Italy overcame stubborn Austria 2-1 in extra-time at Wembley Stadium in London on Satu­rday to reach the quarter-finals as Denmark breezed through by hammering Wales 4-0.

Roberto Mancini’s side, who earned rave reviews after their cruise through the group phase, were made to work hard for their win and had super subs Federico Chiesa and Matteo Pessina to thank.

The victory means Italy have now set a new record of 31 matches unbeaten, surpassing the mark set under two-time World Cup-winning coach Vittorio Pozzo in the 1930s.

Italy’s fans gave a rousing rendition of their national anthem and were the more enterprising team in the first half but Austria came back strongly after the break and cursed a VAR decision to rule out a goal for Marko Arnautovic 20 minutes into the second half.

Despite multiple attempts on goal from both sides, they were locked at 0-0 after 90 minutes in London.

But Chiesa made the crucial breakthrough five minutes into extra-time and another goal from Pessina gave Italy a two-goal cushion.

There was still time for late drama when Austria’s Sasa Kalajdzic pulled a goal back but Italy progress and will play the winners of Sunday’s tie between Belgium and holders Portugal.

Mancini, who has rebuilt the Azzurri after their humiliating failure to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, said his side ‘deserved’ the result.

“In the first half we could have scored a couple of goals and then after the break we dropped off physically,” he told Italy’s public broadcaster RAI.

EMOTIONAL WIN FOR DANES

Earlier, Denmark eased into the quarter-finals with a 4-0 win over Wales in Amsterdam’s Johan Cruyff Arena thanks to two goals from Kasper Dolberg’s and late goals from Joakim Maehle and Martin Braithwaite.

The Danes, carried by a wave of emotion, are the neutrals’ favourites after overcoming the trauma of Christian Eriksen’s cardiac arrest in their opening game.

They will face the Netherlands or Czech Republic in the quarter-finals after winning a knockout tie at the European Championship for the first time since they stunned the continent by winning the tournament in 1992.

It is exactly 29 years since Denmark defeated Germany in the final in Gothenburg having famously only qualified because war-torn Yugoslavia disintegrated.

“It is hard to believe that this is reality,” said coach Kasper Hjulmand. “Johan Cruyff is one of my great inspirations and this was also Christian’s first home after leaving Denmark.

Wales found the majority of the stadium filled by Danish supporters, with fans barred from entering the Netherlands from Britain due to Covid-19 restrictions.

Robert Page’s side made a promising start as Gareth Bale drilled just wide from distance, but Dolberg curled Denmark ahead with a sumptuous strike shortly before the half hour.

The Nice forward then pounced on a poor clearance by Neco Williams to fire home a second just after half-time.

Maehle added a third goal for Denmark two minutes from time before Harry Wilson was sent off for a lazy challenge on the Atalanta player.

Braithwaite rubbed further salt into Welsh wounds with a fourth goal in stoppage time as Denmark became the first team in European Championship history to score four in successive matches.