In the European Championship semi-final, the Netherlands suffered a last-minute goal from England’s Watkins, losing 1-2 to England and crashing out of the competition. After the game, former Italy international and Juventus star Giorgio Chiellini said it was a goal that could have been avoided, but Stefan de Vrij made a mistake.
Speaking to Sky Italia, Chiellini said: “Small details make a difference. Watkins’ movement was correct, but he was going towards the corner flag, he wasn’t dangerous. What defenders shouldn’t do in this situation is try to get to the ball, just occupy the space towards the far post, which would have allowed the goalkeeper to make a very easy save. You don’t need to try to block the ball, because once the ball goes through your legs…”
However, in reality, de Vrij chose to stretch his leg to block Watkins’ shot, but instead of blocking the shot, he interfered with the goalkeeper’s view, and the ball finally rolled into the far corner.
Chiellini said: “It was a preventable goal, I’m very sorry for him, because Stefan (de Vrij) is a top defender and he’s been performing so well in this tournament. But the difference between winning and losing, between lifting the trophy and not, often comes down to such small details.”.
In fact, Chiellini wasn’t the only one criticizing de Vrij’s mistake. Dutch newspaper “Telegraaf” and experts from the Dutch broadcasting television station also pointed out that besides the wrong move to block Watkins’ shot and interfere with the goalkeeper’s view, de Vrij also made another mistake, he should have followed Watkins more closely, and not given him so much space to comfortably finish the shot.
39-year-old Chiellini announced his retirement this year. Three years ago today, he helped Italy lift the 2020 European Championship trophy (postponed to 2021) at Wembley Stadium. Chiellini has made 117 appearances for Italy, and he won nine Serie A titles during his career at Juventus. de Vrij currently plays for Inter Milan, and he has been performing well in this European Championship, scoring a goal in the quarter-final victory over Turkey and being named the UEFA Man of the Match.
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