Total Dutch collapse leaderless Netherlands outmuscled by Czechs
about 4 years in The guardian
Down to 10 men after Matthijs de Ligt’s red card, Frank de Boer’s side panicked and unravelled against zesty foes
Farewell then, the Netherlands 2021. Never mind total football: this was a total collapse. And not just a simple collapse, but an abject, jaw-dropping collapse, the kind of collapse you can see happening in front of you in real time, like a slow-motion car crash.
Thrown by the second half dismissal of Matthijs de Ligt, a Dutch team that came romping out of the blocks in Budapest, all regal vim and pep, was transformed at a stroke into a sagging orange soufflé. Continue reading...