On June 16th, in the opening match of Group D at the European Championship, the Netherlands defeated Poland 2-1 for a winning start. Interestingly, since the turn of the century, whenever the Dutch team has won their opening match at the Euros, they have gone on to finish the group stage with a perfect winning record.
In the 2000 European Championship, as hosts, the Netherlands kicked off with a 1-0 victory over the Czech Republic. They followed it up with a 3-0 win against Denmark and a 3-2 triumph over France, securing first place in their group with three straight wins.
At the 2008 Euros, the Dutch started by thrashing the World Champions Italy 3-0, then beat the World Cup runners-up France 4-1, and concluded with a 2-0 win over Romania, topping their group with another perfect run.
In the 2020 UEFA Euro, the Netherlands began with a thrilling 3-2 win over Ukraine, followed by a comfortable 2-0 victory over Austria, and finished with a 3-0 win against North Macedonia, once again topping their group with a flawless record.
In this tournament, the Netherlands opened with a 2-1 come-from-behind win against Poland, securing a positive start. They now face France and Austria. Will the Orange Machine maintain its momentum? We’ll have to wait and see.
