So Long Netherlands

Trying to watch both the Germany/Denmark and Portugal/Netherlands game was next to impossible on Sunday.  Though the pub had both games on multiple screens, our view of Portugal/Netherlands was blocked by a tall couple who couldn’t stop making schmoopy faces at each other and kissing. They weren’t even watching either match! Argh! Sadly, they did not listen to the rather loud suggestions of watishista P and I, who helpfully reminded them that they might enjoy doing that at home, or you know, anywhere that wasn’t between us and the TV set. Suffice to say, it was annoying. The shouts of nearby Portugal fans and the groans of Dutch supporters pretty much told us all we needed to know.

The Dutch side was taking things dead serious right out of the box. They looked like they had their battle faces on during the anthems.

The awesome Rafa van der Vaart started the scoring out with a beauty of a strike at 11′

However, Crispy scored the equalizer at 28′. The man will not be denied. I was thrilled to see him score (twice) if only to silence the haters.

The second half saw missed chances from both sides before Cristiano’s 74′ minute goal sounded the death knell for Holland’s Euro 2012 campaign.

Cris dedicated his goals to Cris Jr. as it was his second birthday. What a proud papi!

I’m sad for the Dutch. A wealth of talent but all the stories of behind the scenes fighting amongst the team makes it clear that they were not functioning as a cohesive unit.  Makes me feel bad for the fans like this little cutie.

Here’s a couple of shots of Robin van Persie and Wesley Sneijder leaving their hotel to return home. My heart breaks for Wesley especially, he was consistently out there fighting. Sometimes it felt like he was the only one.

What a damn shame. However, the Dutch had the most awesome support songs so there’s that and I’m happy for Portugal.

– Lozil