Dutch hail a job well done against Slovakia
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
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Luuk de Jong and Daley Blind were united in their belief that although the Netherlands were forced to stay patient against Slovakia, their superior football ultimately told.
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Back in the UEFA European Under-21 Championship finals for the first time since winning the competition in 2007, the Netherlands hailed a job well done after wrapping up success against Slovakia in Monday's play-off second leg. Already 2-0 to the good after the opening instalment, Cor Pot's side were forced to bide their time back in Rotterdam but ultimately prevailed through second-half goals from Georginio Wijnaldum and Luuk de Jong.
Luuk de Jong, Netherlands forward
It was similar to the first leg. We didn't start too well and we didn't really play football. We gave the ball away a lot, but there were times in the first half that you could see the football we can play. In the second half we showed much more. The two goals finished it. We knew we had a 2-0 advantage and they had to score three times to go through so it was very tough for them.
An assist and a goal for a striker is always good. I always wanted to be the target man, always to have the ball and also to go deeper when needed. I think it went well. There are still times when I have to hold the ball up a bit better, because sometimes I lose it. It is always possible to improve so I will always want to develop myself.
[The finals] will be great. We didn't make it in 2011 when we had to play against Ukraine twice, and I was there as well. Now luckily we have made it and it's a nice tournament to play in. You want to participate in every European Championship and World Cup, and this one is no different.
Daley Blind, Netherlands defender
Yes, we were troubled at the start and you eventually saw that they had to attack. However, when we played through them, we had so much space and we created a couple of chances that could have gone in. We didn't really have good chances but we kept a clean sheet and in the second half we did what we needed, so I'm pleased.
I don't think we gave away many chances. Our goalkeeper, [Jeroen] Zoet, organised well. We support each other well as a team and due to that, they created few chances, which allowed us to come out and play our football.