Opening win for Oranje

“A man possessed, he spurs us all on”

Wout Weghorst (l.) and Cody Gapko made the opening win possible.(Bild: AFP/APA/GABRIEL BOUYS)

The Oranje's opening victory over Poland generated top ratings. Everyone was happy for Weghorst, but Simons was sharply criticized.

In terms of results alone, the Netherlands got off to a dream start in Austria Group D, but there is still plenty of room for improvement in terms of performance: "I can't say that I enjoyed this flawed performance," criticized 134-time team player and now TV pundit Wesley Sneijder after the 2:1 win over Poland, but also defended the team: "It was the infamous first game, it's all about winning. Nothing more!"

The enthusiasm among the "Oranje" fans was not only great in Hamburg's Volksparkstadion, it could also be measured at home: 4.7 million Dutch people watched live on TV on Sunday afternoon, ensuring a sensational market share of 92%!

And in the end, they cheered with the scorer of the winning goal, Wout Weghorst, to whom his team-mates also tipped their hats: "He acts like a man possessed on the pitch, which is good for us. Because he spurs us all on even more," said Georginio Wijnaldum.

Denzel Dumfries has seen the 31-year-old very focused of late: "As soon as he gets on the pitch, he immediately wants to take over the leadership role. In the dressing room after the Poland game, he was immediately calm again. Like all of us, he knows that this win was just the first small step."

Malice for Simons
While top marks were awarded to Cody Gakpo, scorer of the 1:0, and Bart Verbruggen, the 21-year-old EURO debutant in goal, Xavi Simons got his comeuppance: "Listless, head down most of the time, he needs to flip the switch as quickly as possible," was the verdict of "De Telegraaf" on the Leipzig legionnaire. France await the Netherlands in their second game on Friday - the team will have to show more quality and effectiveness.