Ex-Man Utd flop inspires Austria

Austria beat the Netherlands 3-2 in Berlin on Tuesday in an incredible afternoon of drama. 

A Donyell Malen own goal in the sixth minute kicked things off for Ralf Rangnick’s side, while second-half strikes from Romano Schmid and Marcel Sabitzer cancelled out Dutch equalisers from Cody Gakpo and Memphis Depay.

The result means Austria finish top of a group at a major tournament for the first time in their history, with France’s 1-1 draw against Poland leaving them second, while the Netherlands are third — the latter now have a high chance of facing England in the round of 16.

Here are the full player ratings from the Olympiastadion.

Netherlands vs Austria player ratings

Netherlands (4-3-3)

Bart Verbruggen – 5/10 – Could do nothing about the first two goals and made a couple of important saves to keep his side in the game. May be disappointed with his stature and positioning on Austria’s third.

Lutsharel Geertruida – 5/10 – Lacked intensity and didn’t look up for facing this powerful Austrian side.

Stefan de Vrij – 4/10 – Unlucky deflection for the second Austrian goal in what proved to be a subpar afternoon. Has been solid at the tournament prior to this.

Virgil van Dijk – 6/10 – Did his best to lead the Dutch defence and restore some composure but couldn’t do it all on his own.

Nathan Ake – 5/10 – Offered little going forward for the Netherlands. Did okay defensively.

Jerdy Schouten – 4/10 – Offered progression and inventiveness on the ball but was overrun without it. Lost the run of Sabitzer for Austria’s third.

Tijjani Reijnders – 7/10 – Put in a strong, dynamic first-half performance with some dangerous attacking runs, progressive passing and destructive defending. Ran out of steam in the second half.

Joey Veerman – 3/10 – Misplaced 10 of his 19 attempted passes and posted a 0% success rate on dribbles, crosses and long passes. Looked terribly nervous. Hooked after just 35 minutes to get Xavi Simons on.

Donyell Malen – 5/10 – A strange afternoon for Malen, who was the game’s top dribbler (3) and most-fouled player (4) during his time on the pitch, but all after scoring an early own goal.

Memphis Depay – 8/10 – A much-improved performance from Depay, who was dynamic and electric. Deserved his goal when it came, even if it counted for nothing.

Cody Gakpo – 8/10 – Didn’t see enough of the ball but made it count when he did, scoring a stunning goal just after half-time and creating three…