BUDAPEST (Hungary) -- As Patrik Schuick raced off to celebrate his goal against the Netherlands, a 2-0 victory, Frank de Boer, the Dutch coach, looked on the touchline with a wistful expression -- if only his team had a striker like the Bayer Leverkusen forward.De Boer succeeded in making the Netherlands relevant again, leading them out of Euro 2020's group stage. This was the first major tournament for the country since Louis van Gaal's team reached semifinals at the 2014 World Cup. However, this humiliating defeat in Budapest was a wake-up call for the Oranje.Many were misled by the Dutch's ability to win three of the most difficult games at the tournament, against Ukraine, Austria and North Macedonia. They have young talent, with Frenkie De Jong, Matthijs Del Ligt, and Donyell Malen - all of whom made their tournament debuts in this competition. Denzel Dumfries (25 years old) is another player who can be expected to be available at Euro 2024 in Germany and Qatar 2022. The Dutch will not be a serious contender in 2022 and 2024 unless they can find a striker similar to Schick, who increased his Euro 2020 score to four goals in four matches with his 80th minute strike in the Puskas arena.Fixtures and bracketThe team also has issues in goal. Maarten Stekelenburg, 38, is far from his best. However, Valencia's Jasper Cillessen, a positive COVID-19-test, and Tim Krul of Norwich City will provide De Boer with a top-level goalkeeper who can play regular first-team football over the coming months and years.De Boer is not a world-class goal scorer, which is hurting the Dutch. The Netherlands would have comfortably won the round-of-16 tie if they had been able call on one of their greatest players of yesteryear, Marco van Basten or Ruud van Nielrooy, Robin van Persie and Patrick Kluivert.Malen missed their best opportunity on 52 minutes. He was released by a Memphis Depay flick and burst through Czech defence, leaving himself one-on-1 with goalkeeper Tomas Vaclik. This was the kind of chance his illustrious predecessors would have buried. However, Malen delayed his shot so that Vaclik could block it before smothering Depay’s follow-up.In their Euro 2020 round of 16 tie, Patrik Schick and Czech Republic defeated the Netherlands. GettyIt is these crucial moments that turn big games and Malen's mistake proved to be extremely costly. Malen was then sent off by De Ligt after VAR informed Sergei Karasev, the referee, that De Ligt had taken the ball from De Ligt as the last defender under pressure from Schick. Schick was not given a free kick after initially fouling De Ligt. However, his perseverance earned him the set piece. It also meant that the Dutch were forced to play more than 30 minutes without their best defender.This was just one aspect of his outstanding performance. Schick not only scores goals but also presses defenders to make things happen. The Dutch forwards have not shown the ability to do this.De Ligt was absent from the defense on 68 minutes, when the Dutch failed with an Antonin barak free kick. This left Tomas Kalas with a header at his back post. He directed it to Tomas Holes who scored at the other end to make the Czechs lead.The Dutch acted as if they were running in quicksand from that point forward. The Czechs appeared stronger, more powerful, and more determined. The Dutch lost De Ligt, but it wasn't the only reason they were unable to cope with the stifling heat in Budapest. Their own failures and inability to seize early opportunities were the root of their downfall.The Dutch will be able to look back on the tournament and realize that they entered it without Cillessen, their best keeper, and their defensive leader, Virgil van Dijk. The Netherlands is expected to be the top group, even without a striker, with Cillessen and van Dijk back from the World Cup qualifying campaign.Depay may settle in at Barcelona after his summer move to Lyon. However, De Boer will still need a player like Schick if he wants to be an attacking option in a central position. Czech Republic believes that Depay is the main reason they will make it past next week's quarterfinals. The Czechs are expected to win against Denmark if he keeps scoring.This is how important a striker of high quality can be.
