EURO 2024 – Netherlands 2-3 Austria: Thrilling victory as Austrians win the group

Austria confirmed their status as Dark Horses of EURO 2024 with a 3-2 thriller that sends the Netherlands down to third place in the group, as Marko Arnautovic’s men are on top.

Ralf Rangnick’s men came in knowing they were only one point behind both the Dutch and France in Group D, so were very aggressive and took the lead when Alexander Prass put in a low, hard cross for Inter striker Marko Arnautovic, but Donyell Malen got there first and accidentally put it into his own net.

Malen should’ve equalised, only to scuff the finish wide when one-on-one, and Arnautovic somehow failed to tap in from six yards after some chaotic defending on a corner, missing the ball entirely.

The Dutch were playing so badly that Ronald Koeman made a tactical substitution after just 35 minutes, but it worked, as Cody Gakpo equalised within 15 seconds of the restart after Florian Grillitsch was caught in possession.

However, Grillitsch made up for it by assisting the diving header from Romano Schmid to restore Austria’s lead.

Memphis Depay had the ball in the net on 75 minutes, with the control and volley on a Wout Weghorst header down. It was initially disallowed for handball, but VAR confirmed he managed to avoid a handling offence.

Austria would not give in and Marcel Sabitzer put them in front for the third time from a tricky angle after springing the offside trap.

Verbruggen was beaten at the near post again moments later, but this time Christophe Baumgartner was offside.

This result, and France’s surprise 1-1 with already eliminated Poland, means Austria win Group D on six points, followed by France on five and the Dutch with four. The Netherlands still go through as one of the best third-placed teams.

Netherlands 2-3 Austria

Malen og 6 (A), Gakpo 46 (N), Schmid 59 (A), Depay 76 (N), Sabitzer 80 (A)