In the early hours of July 3rd, the European Championship Round of 16 continued, and in a clash between a traditional powerhouse and a dark horse, the Netherlands triumphed 3-0 over Romania, securing their spot in the quarterfinals. Notably, Malen, who had previously struggled, came on as a substitute and scored a brace, achieving redemption.
Despite being ranked seventh in the world, the Netherlands entered the European Championship with a low profile. However, their performance did not meet expectations, especially in the final group stage match. They drew with Austria in a game where a win would have secured the top spot in the group. The Dutch, the “uncrowned kings”, then shockingly lost 2-3 to the dark horse Austria, dropping to third place in the group and making a difficult entry into the knockout stages.
In that match, 25-year-old Malen was labelled the “sinner”, as it was his own goal in the 6th minute that put the Netherlands in an awkward position. It’s worth noting that Malen scored 15 goals last season, helping Dortmund reach the Champions League final after a 12-year absence. Although they ultimately lost 0-2 to Real Madrid, his performance was still commendable.
In this Dutch squad, stacked with top-tier defenders but lacking in elite strikers, Malen was originally seen as a promising player. However, he started two games and appeared as a substitute in one during the first three games, failing to score or provide an assist, leading to a loss of confidence from the manager. In the Round of 16 against Romania, Koeman opted for a front three of Gakpo, Depay, and Bergwijn, leaving Malen on the bench.
Shortly after the start of the second half, Malen replaced the lackluster Bergwijn. This was his chance for a breakthrough, and he took it:
In the 83rd minute, the Netherlands had a throw-in attack. Depay volleyed the ball with his back to goal, Gakpo made a run, cutting in from the flank and beating Dragusin’s defense, and he played a square pass into the box. Malen met the ball and sent it into the net, extending the Dutch lead to 2-0!
Down by two goals, Romania had to push forward, creating ample counterattacking space for the Netherlands.
In the 93rd minute, Malen received a pass from Simons, dribbled the ball from the left flank deep into the box, then effortlessly shifted directions to evade the defenders, and fired a low shot into the goal, completing his brace.
Post-game statistics showed Malen played 45 minutes, scoring two goals, taking four shots, making three successful dribbles, completing 93.8% of his passes, winning four of five duels, losing possession only five times, and being fouled once. Additionally, Malen provided two key passes, earning a score of 9.1, second only to Gakpo’s 9.2.
With these two goals, Malen directly tied Bellingham’s tally and moved into the top tier of the goalscoring charts. He is just one goal behind leaders Gakpo, Musiala, Mikotadze, and Schranz, and still has a chance to win the Golden Boot. Even more interesting, Malen’s two goals came from only five shots, while Ronaldo managed just zero goals from 20 shots, highlighting the disparity in efficiency.
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