Dutch fall short despite win

The Netherlands bowed out of this year's UEFA European Under-17 Championship, despite beating Finland 6-1 in their final Group A match today.

One point
The Dutch needed to win by a large margin in Køge, but also had to hope that England could beat Denmark in the other Group A match in Hvidovre. That match finished goalless meaning that the Dutch finish third in the table, one point behind Denmark who, along with group winners England, advance to the quarter-finals.

Without belief
The Dutch desperately needed to win the match and they started brightly, with Admir Haznadar hitting the Finnish crossbar with a superb free-kick after only ten minutes. Finland looked tired and devoid of motivation having lost their two previous matches against England and Denmark, while at the other end the Netherlands seemed to be playing with the belief that they could achieve their mathematical miracle.

John on target
Midfield player Richard Blonk posed the main threat, as Ruud Kaisers' side threatened the Finnish goal with some stylish build-up play. Indeed, Blonk was the provider when Collins John rose high above the Finnish rearguard to head his team in front on the half-hour mark. However, the Dutch were soon brought back to earth, when Mika Ääritalo received the ball in the penalty area, turned neatly and fired past Theo Brack to restore parity.

Back to life
The Netherlands continued to press for the remainder of the half, but regained the lead soon after the interval. Mark Otten was the hero, as he volleyed past Henrik Moisander following a pinpoint corner from Resham Sardar in the 50th minute. The goal brought the Dutch back to life and seconds later they made it 3-1, when Ferdi Elmas launched a terrific drive into the top corner past a helpless Moisander.

Late goals
The impossible suddenly seemed possible when Finland began to tire and John capitalised on the poor marking to make it 4-1 with a close-range finish. The Netherlands intensified their pressure and added another when Wouter Artz converted a penalty after Niklas Moisander had brought down John in the box. John rounded off a fantastic Dutch performance by scoring his second of the night to make it 6-1 late on.

'Danish equaliser'
Coach Ruud Kaiser was desperately disappointed after the match. "When I go home and think about these championships, I will always remember Denmark's equaliser in the 83rd minute - from then on the tournament was finished for us. Today I knew that the Finns would fight to the end as long as we were level, but once we got on the scoresheet they broke down like they did against Denmark. Still, we have learned something from this tournament, and I do think a couple of players will make it to our national team."

'Something to be proud of'
Finland coach Timo Liekoski was realistic about his team's performance in the finals. "We didn't have the stamina and the technical capacity to equal the teams in our group. I know my players can do better than this but they are not used to playing at this level because the Finnish leagues are too weak. However, we still have to remember that we are among the 16 best nations in Europe and that's also something to be proud of."