Clinical finish on the first goal from Netherlands: Fast counterattack so that the defense is off balance with the central runner going wide to draw the defense out of the middle. He probably didn’t draw them more than a step, but the attacker with the ball cut to the middle space just vacated and -boom- shot it in. Superb execution.
The second Netherlands goal was an excellent restart, and I still don’t know what Slovakia’s player was complaining about. His foot was head height and if that’s not dangerous play, I don’t know what is. Horrible keeper error, coming out and being beaten like that, and really unfortunate since he’d done so well up to that point.
Slovakia did well to net a penalty at the end of the game to keep it a respectable 2-1 loss, but the bigger point is the chances they missed. Netherlands’ defense looked vulnerable, and that’s something that ought give them pause as they await the winner of Brazil v. Chile. If not for a stellar job by their keeper and some awful Slovakian finishing, they might be headed home right now.