Under 21 European Championships, France-Holland –

Quarter-finals of the Under 21 European Championships. All on the field on Monday 31 May, for a great football show: at 6 pm Spain-Croatia and Holland-France are scheduled, three hours later it will be the turn of Italy-Portugal and Germany- Denmark. All in a few hours, then: access to the semifinals, scheduled for Thursday 3 June, is played.

PATH

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A very interesting challenge is therefore that between the Netherlands and France. The Oranje ended Group A in first place, level on points with Germany and Hungary: five points in three games for all three teams, with Cinderella Hungary nailed to zero. France, on the other hand, finished second in group C, dominated by Denmark: the national team coached by Sylvain Ripoll finished with two victories, against Russia and Iceland, and a defeat against the Danes on their debut. Six points, then.

THE NUMBERS

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It is not the first confrontation between the two national teams at the Under 21 European Championships. There is only one precedent in official competitions, dated 1 June 2006: the Netherlands won in the semifinal in extra time, 3-2 with a decisive goal in extra time by Hofs. Huntelaar also scored in that match, a forward for AC Milan among others. The Oranje then took the title, winning the final against Ukraine, and Huntelaar was named the best player of the competition. A friendly match was also played between the two teams in March 2015, with France’s 4-1 victory: under the spotlight Martial, author of a brace. Also considering the unofficial matches, the balance is four French victories, one Dutch and two draws: the only victory for Holland therefore came in the only official match played between the two national teams. Future, but also present: the Under 21 European Championships come to life and the show is guaranteed. And not only because Nicolato’s Italy is also among the protagonists.