Netherlands forward Donyell Malen on their UEFA EURO 2024 quarter-final meeting with Türkiye
Saturday, July 6, 2024
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"They're not easy opponents; they play with a lot of passion," Netherlands forward Donyell Malen told EURO2024.com as his side face a quarter-final showdown with Türkiye.
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Coming on as a half-time substitute for Steven Bergwijn in the UEFA EURO 2024 round of 16 win against Romania, Netherlands forward Donyell Malen had a huge impact, scoring twice as the Dutch recorded their first EURO knockout stage win over 90 minutes since the 2000 quarter-finals.
Malen was nominally positioned out on the right wing, yet it was his ability to move inside that helped give Oranje a tactical advantage. "We wanted to have a man extra in midfield, because it gave us greater control and possession," he told EURO2024.com. "They only had one player in the No6 position, and he couldn't mark two of us, so he had to choose [between Malen, Bergwijn or Xavi Simons]. It worked really well, before and after the break."
The difference in performance from the 3-2 defeat against Austria seven days earlier was remarkable. "That game was very disappointing for us," admits the Oranje No18. "Afterwards, we sat down and discussed it, and were honest with one another about what needed to be better. We had a full week to look hard at the principles of our game and consider the fundamentals. I feel we all carried out those things really well."
On a personal level, Malen was obviously delighted to have played such a central role in "putting the game to bed," as he describes it. "I'm very focused on the goal: that's how I like to play. Scoring and providing assists – that's my greatest quality. What's key for me is getting as close to the goal as possible, and being important there."
The forward, who has won 36 caps, admitted that a lot of the pre-tournament build-up in his country of residence passed him by. "[Borussia Dortmund] reached the Champions League final, so all our focus was on that. But of course I know all the stadiums. And now you see them in a different light. For example, I'd played in Munich before against Bayern, but this time the stadium was full of Oranje and that was a completely different experience, which makes it really special.”
The two-goal hero is looking forward to the showdown with Türkiye. "They had a really good match against Austria [winning 2-1 in the round of 16]," he says. "They're not easy opponents. They play with a lot of passion. Their fans are passionate too. There's going to be lots of them in Berlin, that's fantastic. It's one of the reasons why you become a footballer, to play in games like that."
To finish off, Malen reveals which team-mates spring to mind when certain attributes are mentioned. Ball skills? Steven Bergwijn. Speed? Jeremie Frimpong. For passing ability, it's Joey Veerman. Denzel Dumfries comes out top for determination. Virgil van Dijk for heading. Wout Weghorst: finishing. Daley Blind is the worst loser. Vision: Nathan Aké. And dribbling? "Me!" says Malen.
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