Greece 0-1 Netherlands: Talking points as late Van Dijk penalty restores Dutch qualification hope

Netherlands have managed to get themselves right back into the race for the top two spots in Group B of the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifications, which lead directly to the tournament next year. They did it by beating Greece in Athens, courtesy of a stoppage-time penalty put away by captain Virgil van Dijk.

Penalties

Given the way the match was settled, it only makes sense to start by discussing the penalty decisions, for there were two of them even if there was only one goal. In the 25th minute, the Greek defence had just cleared a Dutch corner and Quilindschy Hartman sent the ball back into the box, when Kostas Koulierakis was judged to have pulled Van Dijk to the ground. There was no doubt in the mind of referee Alejandro Jose Hernandez Hernandez from Spain as he blew the whistle and pointed to the spot, and all the protests of the Greek were in vain, particularly when confirmation came from the VAR room.

Looking at the situation objectively, it’s hard to tell whether Koulierakis initiated the contact, given the way Van Dijk was backing into him. But there was definitely a pull from the Greece defender which caused the Netherlands captain to fall, and while the decision might have gone either way, by no means can it be described as a clear and obvious error. It feels Greece were just unlucky there, but as goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos dove brilliantly to deny Wout Weghorst from the spot, it didn’t even matter in the end.

There was a lot more debate around the other penalty call, the one that ended up deciding the contest. Dutch substitute Brian Brobbey received the ball just inside the box with Panagiotis Retsos close on his back, and he engaged the run of Denzel Dumfries coming in from the right. Dumfries was followed by Vangelis Pavlidis, the Greek attacker who had backtracked to help his defence, and the pair of them went down entangled. Hernandez’s whistle sounded as his hand pointed to the spot once more.

Interestingly enough, this was a rare occasion on which the referee was so convinced of his decision, that he stuck to it despite being sent to review it on the pitch-side monitor. The review obviously only confirmed his judgement, and there was no changing his mind. And unlike the one given in the 25th minute, this penalty made all the difference as Van Dijk stepped up, sent the excellent Vlachodymos the wrong way and put the ball in the back of the net.

But looking at it from the outside, this situation actually appeared a lot more straightforward. In fact, Hernandez had the luxury of taking a pick between fouls committed by Retsos on Brobbey and Pavlidis on Dumfries. It was a harsh, heartbreaking ending for the home side, particularly for Vlachodymos who had really done a lot to keep his team level, but there’s no reason for Greece to hold a grudge against the officials.

The game by numbers

The stats from this game mostly correspond with its outcome, suggesting a minimal Dutch victory was the right one. Indeed, the visitors had the ball at their feet for 60% of the time and took a total of 11 shots, six on target; Greece fired eight shots, finding the target just twice, and even then they hardly troubled Bart Verbruggen in the Dutch goal.

The Netherlands attempted a total of 531 passes and completed 86% of them, while Greece had 351 with an 80% accuracy. The Netherlands took eight corners, Greece just two. The visitors even committed more fouls (12-15), which means their game didn’t lack aggression either.

However, it wasn’t exactly a pretty game to behold. Very few real chances were created at either end of the pitch, which goes a long way in explaining why one goal was always likely to settle the winner.

The group

The Netherlands have now caught up with Greece in the group rankings. The two teams now share the tally of 12 points, six less than leaders France. The Dutch have actually moved ahead of Greece, given their domination over the two head-to-head encounters.

Further more, the Netherlands have a good chance of increasing their number of points by six before the end, as they face Ireland at home and Gibraltar away in November. Greece, on the other hand, play just one more game, and that’s going to be a tough one as France come to Athens.

The race between the Netherlands and Greece for the second place is the only uncertainty at this point of the campaign, when it comes to Group B. Gibraltar and Ireland have no chance of overtaking either, and France have already secured the top spot, on top of which they host Gibraltar before the Greece trip.

If France beat Gibraltar as expected, they will have the luxury of sending a rotated team to face Greece, which would, of course, give Greece some proper hope. It means that Netherlands simply cannot afford to relax in the remaining two fixtures.