Fuente: © Arsenal
http://www.arsenal.com/

ARSENAL: Euro 2008: Gallas undone by superb Dutch

/noticias.info/ Holland 4-1 France
Friday, June 9
Berne

Robin van Persie came off the bench to score as Holland bounced into the Quarter-Finals of Euro 2008 with a superb 4-1 win over France, who themselves now face an uphill struggle if they are to progress from Group C. William Gallas played throughout for Les Bleus.

Dirk Kuyt headed the Dutch ahead inside 10 minutes as Marco van Basten’s side made all the early running. But Raymond Domenech’s team showed signs of promise as the half progressed. Sidney Govou twice forced Edwin van der Sar into action and Frank Ribery, too, was denied by the Manchester United stopper.

Ruthless finishing and outstanding counter-attacking has become a feature of Holland’s play at the tournament and it was implemented to devastating affect once again after the break. Arjen Robben, a half-time introduction, tore down the left flank and picked out Van Persie at the far post. The Arsenal man made no mistake in registering his first goal of the championships.

Former Gunner Thierry Henry halved the deficit with a cute finish on 71 minutes but Robben hammered home from a narrow angle a minute later.

And it stayed that way until Wesley Sneijder ended proceedings with one of Euro 2008 finest goals deep into stoppage time. The Real Madrid star swivelled around his marker before unleashing an unstoppable drive that cannoned in off the underside of the crossbar.

The result ensured the Dutch topped the so called ‘Group of Death’ while France must now beat Italy and hope Romania fail to overcome the group winners in the final fixture. notas_de_prensa_archivo