Dutch fans are sad. Photo by Getty ImagesThe European Championships were a perfect event, and it was not so long ago. It was only 16 teams that made it to the final, which is about the same number of European teams as make the World Cup. There were rarely any true no-hopers in this draw. Each game was important because there were four groups of four teams.AdvertisementAlthough the group stage has been slowed by the addition of 24 teams in 2016, it has provided some uncertainty to the round 16. Despite the fact that four of six teams in third place will advance to the next round, it is difficult to see how the teams are doing in the first three games. Imagine how different the group between France, Germany, Portugal and Spain would look if one of them were going home at the end of the group stage (which Germany and Portugal briefly flirted with, but ended up with draws, where one would need a win in the old format).The Netherlands was one of the most popular teams in the group stage. They beat Ukraine, Austria and North Macedonia home, with the exception of a 10-minute match against Ukraine where they conceded two goals. It was hard to believe that the Dutch, after missing two major tournaments, were back in tournament soccer and at the top of the table.Oops!Frank De Boer managing Atlanta United is a bad start. International soccer can be quite strange due to the fatigue and health of the players as well as the different opponents.None of the Dutch opponents were ever tested in the group stage and none of them got up to the Dutch face today like the Czech Republic. The orange-clad will refer to Matthijs de Ligts' red card as the turning moment, but the Dutch had never been able to score before that point and were nullified. It was either even or slightly in favor of the Czechs, but it was only more so if the game was turned.How? How? WhoScored.com reports that the Dutch lost possession in their own halves 11 times during today's loss. This happened only four times against North Macedonia. It was five against Austria. It was also five against Ukraine. Nine tackles were attempted by the Czechs to get around the Dutch box. This is a sign of their desire to quickly win the ball back. Holland's group opponents combined for only seven games. .AdvertisementThis graph shows that the Czechs wanted to shut down Holland's left side of Patrick van Aanholt and Danny Blind.The head will die if you kill the body. The Dutch had to be cut off at the back, leaving the midfield starved. This meant that the forwards had little to work with. Gini Wijnaldum was the Dutch's attacking fulcrum at the midfield head. She had 26 touches throughout the game. He attempted only 16 passes. He did not have a shot. Memphis Depay only had one chance. Only three touches were made by Depay in the area. Compare this to the 10 touches he did in the area against North Macedonia.AdvertisementDe Boer will refer to van Aanholts missed right before De Ligts dismissal. He will also point out that it was something beyond his control that sent De Ligts home. He won't, and shouldn't, get away with it. De Boer had this team totally flummoxed. He didn't press them enough and didn't offer a red carpet for defense. De Boer also froze after the card. Van Aanholt was moved to center back by De Boer, who has rarely played. After being reduced to 10 men, his first sub was an attacking winger from Quincy Promes. He did not bring on another defender until the team was down to just two goals. The Czechs' opening goal was scored by their defending.The Dutch performed admirably on the group stage. This and $3 get you on the subway.
