Much-improved Netherlands beats Romania 3-0 to reach first Euros quarterfinal in 16 years

MUNICH (AP) — The Netherlands reached its first European Championship quarterfinal in 16 years with a 3-0 win over Romania on Tuesday.

Cody Gakpo broke the deadlock in the 20th minute and Donyell Malen scored two late goals to send the Dutch to their first quarterfinal in the tournament since 2008.

The Dutch had missed a plethora of earlier opportunities to add to the lead and captain Virgil van Dijk also hit the woodwork. It was nevertheless a much-improved display compared to its disappointing group stage performance, which ended in a 3-2 loss to Austria.

The Netherlands might have an immediate chance for revenge as there could be a quick rematch in Berlin on Saturday if Austria beats Turkey in the final round of 16 match later Tuesday.

It was Gakpo’s third goal of the tournament, making him joint top scorer along with Germany’s Jamal Musiala, Georges Mikautadze of Georgia and Ivan Schranz of Slovakia.

Romania had dominated possession until Gakpo’s goal, but never really tested Netherlands goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen. Instead the opener came when Xavi Simons surged forward before finding Gakpo on the left. The Liverpool forward cut inside the blue-haired Andrei Rațiu and fired into the near bottom corner.

The goal seemed to give the Dutch confidence and they had several chances to extend their lead. A huge section of their orange-clad fans thought they scored again six minutes later when Stefan De Vrij was allowed a free header on a corner but he planted it just wide of the right post, rippling the sidenetting.

A goalsaving tackle from Radu Drăgușin denied Memphis Depay a tap-in, while the Netherlands went even closer to doubling its lead on the stroke of halftime.

Denzel Dumfries did well to keep the ball from crossing the byline and cut it back to a completely unmarked Simons, who perhaps should have hit it first time but instead took a touch allowing the Romania defenders to close him down and — under pressure — he fired wide of the right post.

Romania came very close to putting the ball in its own net when Bogdan Racovițan cleared Depay’s effort off the line and it came off teammate Marius Marin, but the ball fell into the arms of goalkeeper Florin Niță.

Van Dijk also saw a header come off the right post.

Gakpo had a second-half goal chalked off for offside, but turned provider seven minutes from time as he managed to just keep the ball in play, under pressure from Drăgușin, and proded it back from the byline for Malen to poke home.

And the Dutch capped a dominant performance in stoppage time when Simons released Malen for a surging run from the halfway line before slotting past Niță.

AP Euro 2024: https://apnews.com/hub/euro-2024

Romania's Nicolae Stanciu, left, and his teammates react after Donyell Malen of the Netherlands scored his side's second goal during a round of sixteen match between Romania and the Netherlands at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Munich, Germany, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Romania players react after a round of sixteen match between Romania and the Netherlands at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Munich, Germany, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Romania's Vasile Mogos, center, talks with his coach Edward Iordanescu during a round of sixteen match between Romania and the Netherlands at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Munich, Germany, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

Netherlands' Cody Gakpo (11) celebrates with teammates after scoring the opening goal during a round of sixteen match between Romania and the Netherlands at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Munich, Germany, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Cody Gakpo of the Netherlands, left, scores the opening goal against Romania's Marius Marin and Andrei Ratiu during a round of sixteen match between Romania and the Netherlands at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Munich, Germany, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)

Cody Gakpo of the Netherlands celebrates scoring his side's opening goal during a round of sixteen match between Romania and the Netherlands at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Munich, Germany, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

Romania's Marius Marin fights for the ball with Memphis Depay of the Netherlands, left, during a round of sixteen match between Romania and the Netherlands at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Munich, Germany, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Denzel Dumfries of the Netherlands fights for the ball against Romania's Valentin Mihaila during a round of sixteen match between Romania and the Netherlands at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Munich, Germany, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Donyell Malen of the Netherlands, left, reacts after scoring his side's second goal during a round of sixteen match between Romania and the Netherlands at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Munich, Germany, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)

The players of the Netherlands celebrate after Donyell Malen of the Netherlands scored his side's third goal during a round of sixteen match between Romania and the Netherlands at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Munich, Germany, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

Netherlands' Donyell Malen celebrates after scoring his side's third goal during a round of sixteen match between Romania and the Netherlands at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Munich, Germany, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Donyell Malen of the Netherlands, right, is congratulated after scoring his side's 2nd goal during a round of sixteen match between Romania and the Netherlands at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Munich, Germany, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

Netherlands' Donyell Malen (18) celebrates with Cody Gakpo after scoring their side's second goal during a round of sixteen match between Romania and the Netherlands at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Munich, Germany, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Donyell Malen of the Netherlands celebrates scoring his side's 2nd goal during a round of sixteen match between Romania and the Netherlands at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Munich, Germany, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

Cody Gakpo of the Netherlands, bottom left, celebrates with teammates after scoring the opening goal during a round of sixteen match between Romania and the Netherlands at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Munich, Germany, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)

Cody Gakpo of the Netherlands, center, celebrates with teammates and head coach Ronald Koeman after scoring the opening goal during a round of sixteen match between Romania and the Netherlands at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Munich, Germany, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)

Romania's goalkeeper Florin Nita fails to block a shot on goal by Cody Gakpo of the Netherlands during a round of sixteen match between Romania and the Netherlands at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Munich, Germany, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Cody Gakpo of the Netherlands, right, celebrates after scoring the opening goal during a round of sixteen match between Romania and the Netherlands at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Munich, Germany, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Cody Gakpo of the Netherlands, left, celebrates with Xavi Simons after scoring the opening goal during a round of sixteen match between Romania and the Netherlands at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Munich, Germany, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Alexander Rossi won the Indianapolis 500 as a rookie with Andretti Global, but when that relationship staled after seven seasons, he moved on to what he thought was a better IndyCar team.

And, technically, Arrow McLaren Racing does seem to rank third among the top teams in IndyCar right now. So it seemed like a pretty good two-year deal for the Formula 1 driver.

But at an impasse over negotiations on a new deal, Rossi and McLaren said earlier this week they'd split at the end of the season. The announcement came a little over a week after Rossi scored his first podium of the season and only second since joining McLaren in 2023.

Christian Lundgaard, the most sought-after IndyCar free agent on the market, will replace Rossi in 2025.

Now, as Rossi heads to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course this weekend ranked seventh in the championship standings but arguably the most consistent McLaren driver through the first eight races, he needs to find a new ride in an increasingly shrinking free agent market.

And even now that he's quite likely the top available job candidate, Rossi must prove that there are seats still available that can keep him near the front of the field. He said there's been no communication with Prema Racing, an Italian team that has announced its intent to field two cars on the grid next season, but that there are competitive seats still available.

Headed into Mid-Ohio, only drivers from Team Penske and Chip Ganassi Racing have won races this year. Rossi teammate Pato O'Ward was moved from second to the winner of the season-opening race when Penske driver Josef Newgarden was later disqualified.

“There's two teams that are winning every week, right? All the other teams are in some ways knocking on the door, they have potential, they have good things, they have bad things,” Rossi told The Associated Press. "But in a lot of respects, they are all kind of on the same level. None of us (including McLaren) have actually taken the step to be at a Penske-slash-Ganassi level.

“So when you say what's going to be good for Alex? They each have their skeletons in the closet. They each have their own thing they don't know about. But then they have these glimpses of really positive things. Then you have a conversation,” Rossi continued. “You listen to what they are doing and what things they are putting into place, and you base your decisions on what you learn, right?”

Rossi is represented by his dad, Pieter, who believes a contract can be done by the end of the month. All American motorsports come to a two-week pause later this month because of the Paris Olympics.

Pieter Rossi said his son had no issues with his time at McLaren and is determined to finish the championship standings as the highest-ranked Chevrolet driver. Will Power of Penske at second and McLaren teammate Pato O'Ward at sixth are the only two Chevy drivers currently outranking Rossi, an oval specialist who closes his time with the team with six ovals in the final nine races.

“Alexander has been an incredible teammate, and we’re grateful for our two seasons we’ve been racing with him," said Arrow McLaren team principal Gavin Ward. “We wouldn’t be where we are today without him. Ultimately we couldn’t meet in the middle on terms, but we absolutely wish him the best and will do all we can the second half of the season to get him in the top five in the championship.”

Rossi is in no way worried. The seats still available aren't exactly the bottom of the barrel; Lundgaard's seat at Rahal Letterman Lanigan needs to be filled, and anything can happen at Meyer Shank Racing, which could keep David Malukas or even expand to three team next year.

Rossi noted that much of the negotiating behind the scenes is constantly fluctuating because of ongoing talks between IndyCar and its teams over a NASCAR-style charter system. For example, a rule could be added that teams can only have three charters, and that could push Meyer Shank to grab one while he can and expand.

Ganassi runs an IndyCar-high five cars, while Penske for years has run three. Andretti this season downsized from four to three cars. McLaren has three cars and ran a fourth at the Indianapolis 500.

Rossi, who turns 33 in September, said he's laughing at those who say ‘Alex is old. I’m not old," and with the right future team he can prove it.

“I'm looking for a place that I go and fight and win races and get back to the place that I know I am capable of being at consistently.”

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

FILE -Alexander Rossi watches during a practice session for the IndyCar Indianapolis GP auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Friday, Aug. 11, 2023, in Indianapolis. Arrow McLaren Racing is making yet another change to its IndyCar lineup and will replace Alexander Rossi with Christian Lundgaard. Rossi spent last season and this with McLaren, while Lundgaard, of Denmark, has been with Rahal Letterman Lanigan. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings, File)