Substitute Ernest Poku scored a dramatic late winner as 10-man Netherlands edged past Portugal to progress to the semi-finals of the European Under-21 Championship in Zilina.
The Dutch were pushed on to the backfoot when Ruben van Bommel, son of former Netherlands midfielder Mark, was sent off early in the first half but were given a lifeline when Portugal winger Geovany Quenda, who will join Chelsea next year, missed a penalty.
Portugal continued to dominate in the second half but Michael Reiziger’s side dealt the decisive blow when Aston Villa’s Ian Maatsen lifted a pass over the defence for Poku to round goalkeeper Samuel Soares and score with six minutes to go.
The two-time winners will face either England or Spain in the semi-final to be held in Bratislava on Wednesday.
With Quenda creating continual problems down the right wing from the start, the Netherlands unravelled further after 21 minutes as Van Bommel was sent off for a second yellow card in as many minutes.
But Portugal will rue not tightening their grip on the quarter-final after Netherlands captain Devyne Rensch brought down Tiago Tomas in the box only for Quenda, 18, to rattle the woodwork.
Despite being down to 10 men, the Netherlands still threatened – Chico Lamba turned the ball into his own net under pressure, but was spared the embarrassment by an offside flag against Maatsen before Soares was called into action to save from Thom van Bergen.
The Netherlands only had 19% possession after the break but they would have the final say as AZ Alkmaar forward Poku came off the bench to make a telling impact.
[BBC]