Austria's Surprising Victory Pushes Them Past Netherlands To Finish Top Of Group D At Euro 2024
In an unexpected turn of events, Austria pulled off a stunning 3-2 victory over the heavily favored Netherlands national team yesterday. The win allowed Austria to leapfrog the Dutch and claim the top spot in Group D at the ongoing Euro 2024 tournament in Germany. Meanwhile, tournament favorites France were held to a 1-1 draw by Poland, ending their group stage campaign in second place.
Austria took a shock early lead through an own goal by Netherlands midfielder Donyell Malen in the first half. Cody Gakpo leveled the score for the Dutch shortly after the break. But Austria regained the advantage through Romano Schmid in the 59th minute before grabbing a third through Marcel Sabitzer. Memphis Depay had briefly brought Netherlands back on level terms, but it wasn't enough to prevent their upset loss.
This remarkable win sees Austria finish Group D with maximum points from their three matches. On the other hand, the defeat leaves Netherlands' hopes of automatic qualification hanging by a thread. Much will now depend on their standing as one of the best third-place teams when group stage action concludes.
Over in the other Group D fixture, Kylian Mbappe marked his return from injury with the opening goal from the penalty spot to give France the lead. But Robert Lewandowski equalized for Poland in similar fashion late on, denying Les Bleus top spot in the group. Mbappe had sat out France's previous match through injury but showed no ill-effects in leading the line once more.
With the group stage reaching its climax, many more thrills and surprises could be in store as the competition for places in the knockout rounds intensifies over the coming days.
