Netherlands go through: Can Ronald Koeman hand the Dutch another European title?

Ronald Koeman and the Netherlands have reached the semi-finals of Euro 2024 after a spectacular game of football against Türkiye. The Dutch will now face England for a place in the final.

Koeman is a Dutch football legend, having won Euro 1988 with his country as a player. At Euro 2024, he is trying to do the same as a manager and claim a second European title for the Netherlands.

Since the glory days of Koeman, Marco Van Basten, and Ruud Gullit in the 80s and some successful spells in the 2000s, the Dutch fans have been starved of tournament appearances in recent years.

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The Dutch national team missed out on qualifying for the 2016 Euros and the 2018 World Cup, and was knocked out of the 2020 Euros in the last 16 by the Czech Republic. They reached the 2022 World Cup quarter-final, where they lost to Argentina.

Recent results have shown the Netherlands is continuing to progress in each tournament, and this year could be the campaign they reach the heights of their 1988 tournament win.

Ronald Koeman has already been the manager of the Netherlands between 2018 and 2020, reaching the 2019 Nations League Final before being lured to manage FC Barcelona.

According to the UEFA website, his run in the Nations League saw his Dutch team draw to Germany, beat world champions France, and beat England in the semi-final before losing to Portugal in the final.

The Dutch boss has proved he can set up a team to beat the best European teams in the tournament and sets them up in a good position for the championships.

In the current squad for the Euros, the Netherlands has an abundance of world-class talent in defense who could play alongside the Dutch captain Virgil Van Dijk. Internazionale's Stefan de Vrij played an important role against Türkiye, scoring the equaliser.

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To go along with arguably the best defense in the tournament, the Dutch have a strong core of players to complement them, with the attacking duo of Memphis Depay and Cody Gakpo up front.

Opta reports that despite only starting 11 games for Atlético Madrid and playing 1,205 minutes, Memphis Depay was still effective for his team, scoring nine times at a rate of a goal every 134 minutes. His 46 goals for the Netherlands puts him second all-time.

However, the Dutch are doing without two of their best midfielders, Teun Koopmeiners and Frenkie de Jong, who are both absent through injury.

The rejuvenated Dutch team has been equipped with young stars looking to stake a claim on the biggest stage. Jeremie Frimpong is coming off his unbeaten Bundesliga campaign with Bayer Leverkusen, while Brian Brobbey has scored 18 goals in 30 Eredivisie games for Ajax.

One of Koeman's toughest challenges is getting wonderkid Xavi Simons to thrive in the international setup after two unbelievable years with PSV and RB Leipzig. Simons has provided two assists so far at Euro 2024.

According to Opta, Simons has scored 27 goals and provided 19 assists in the past two campaigns, averaging a goal involvement every 120 minutes.

The Netherlands now face England in the semi-finals of Euro 2024. Can Koeman spur them on to win like he did in 1988?

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