Netherlands into Euro quarterfinals on strength of Gakpo, Malen efforts vs. Romania

The Netherlands reached its first European Championship quarterfinal in 16 years with a 3-0 win over Romania on Tuesday.

Cody Gakpo broke the deadlock in the 20th minute and Donyell Malen scored two late goals to send the Dutch to their first quarterfinal in the tournament since 2008.

The Dutch had missed a plethora of earlier opportunities to add to the lead and captain Virgil van Dijk also hit the woodwork. It was nevertheless a much-improved display compared to its disappointing group stage performance, which ended in a 3-2 loss to Austria.

The Netherlands might have an immediate chance for revenge as there could be a quick rematch in Berlin on Saturday if Austria beats Turkey in the final round of 16 match later Tuesday.

"I think we played a good game and showed a great reaction from the last one," Gakpo said. "Especially after the last game we needed a reaction and today was a good step in the right direction. … "We talked a lot about the aggression, the intensity and defending like a team."

It was Gakpo's third goal of the tournament, making him joint top scorer along with Germany's Jamal Musiala, Georges Mikautadze of Georgia and Ivan Schranz of Slovakia.

Romania had dominated possession until Gakpo's goal, but never really tested Netherlands goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen. Instead the opener came when Xavi Simons surged forward before finding Gakpo on the left. The Liverpool forward cut inside the blue-haired Andrei Rațiu and fired into the near bottom corner.

The goal seemed to give the Dutch confidence and they had several chances to extend their lead. A huge section of their orange-clad fans thought they scored again six minutes later when Stefan De Vrij was allowed a free header on a corner but he planted it just