Heitinga dropped for Dutch defeat

, 17 June, 9comments  |  Jump to most recent
Johnny Heitinga was dropped by coach Van Marwijk as Holland lost their vital crunch match against Portugal tonight in Euro2012 and were eliminated from the tournament with an unprecedented three straight defeats.

The Netherlands, sitting bottom of Group B at the start of play, needed to win by two clear goals — and Germany to beat Denmark — in order to stand any chance of progressing to the quarter finals.

Germany did their part, winning 2-1 in the other game, but though the Dutch took the lead with a beautiful strike by Rafael van der Vaart, their 11th-minute goal merely roused Portugal from their early defensive posture.

Breaking with lightning speed against a flat-footed Holland defence, the Portuguese turned the game on its head with two goals by Cristiano Ronaldo. And the Real Madrid star could have had a hat-trick but slammed a late drive off the face of the post.

Van der Vaart was also denied a late brace when his curling effort with his other foot came off the woodwork, a typical end to a miserable Euro2012 for the Oranjie.

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