Group C of EURO 2020: Netherlands seeking opportunity to restore lost pride

By Muhammed Enes Calli and Emre Asikci

ANKARA (AA) - The Netherlands, Ukraine, Austria and North Macedonia will compete in Group C to qualify for the knockout phase in EURO 2020.

The Group C games will be played in Amsterdam's Johan Cruyff Arena and Bucharest's National Arena from June 13-21.

EURO 2020 is scheduled to be held in 11 cities from June 11 to July 11, featuring 24 teams.

- Netherlands

One of the co-hosts, the Netherlands, sealed their place in EURO 2020 after coming second in the qualifiers stage in Group C with 19 points.

After failing to qualify for EURO 2016 and World Cup 2018, Netherlands' players are now looking to restore lost pride of the national team which has some remarkable victories under their belt, including the EURO 1988 trophy.

Manager Frank de Boer has been busy rebuilding a squad, but his team will miss one of the best defenders in Europe, captain Virgil Van Dijk, who will be out of the tournament due to injury.

Lyon’s Memphis Depay and Gini Wijnaldum from Liverpool are key players for the national team to move to the knockout stage.

- Squad

Goalkeepers: Tim Krul (Norwich City ), Maarten Stekelenburg (Ajax), Marco Bizot (AZ Alkmaar)

Defenders: Patrick van Aanholt (Crystal Palace), Nathan Ake (Manchester City), Daley Blind (Ajax), Denzel Dumfries (PSV), Matthijs de Ligt (Juventus), Jurrien Timber (Ajax), Joel Veltman (Brighton & Hove Albion), Stefan de Vrij (Inter Milan), Owen Wijndal (AZ Alkmaar)

Midfielders: Ryan Gravenberch (Ajax), Frenkie de Jong (Barcelona), Davy Klaassen (Ajax), Teun Koopmeiners (AZ Alkmaar), Marten de Roon (Atalanta), Georginio Wijnaldum (Liverpool)

Forwards: Steven Berghuis (Feyenoord), Cody Gakpo (PSV), Luuk de Jong (Sevilla), Donyell Malen (PSV), Memphis Depay (Lyon), Quincy Promes (Spartak Moscow), Wout Weghorst (Wolfsburg)

- Ukraine

Ukraine came in the tournament with an impressive form in qualifiers after going undefeated in Group B by collecting 20 points.

They previously participated in EURO 2012 and EURO 2016, but failed to go further than the group stage.

Atalanta's playmaker Ruslan Malinovskiy and Gent’s forward Roman Yaremchuk will be the main players for Andriy Shevchenko’s side at Euro 2020.

- Squad

Goalkeepers: Georgiy Bushchan (Dynamo Kyiv), Andriy Pyatov (Shakhtar Donetsk), Anatoliy Trubin (Shakhtar Donetsk)

Defenders: Eduard Sobol (Club Brugge), Illia Zabarnyi (Dynamo Kyiv), Serhiy Kryvtsov (Shakhtar Donetsk), Denys Popov (Dynamo Kyiv), Oleksandr Tymchyk (Dynamo Kyiv), Vitaliy Mykolenko (Dynamo Kyiv), Oleksandr Karavaev (Dynamo Kyiv), Mykola Matviyenko (Shakhtar Donetsk)

Midfielders: Serhiy Sydorchuk (Dynamo Kyiv), Ruslan Malinovskiy (Atalanta), Mykola Shaparenko (Dynamo Kyiv), Marlos (Shakhtar Donetsk), Yevhen Makarenko (Kortrijk), Oleksandr Zinchenko (Manchester City), Viktor Tsygankov (Dynamo Kyiv), Taras Stepanenko (Shakhtar Donetsk), Andriy Yarmolenko (West Ham), Oleksandr Zubkov (Ferencvaros), Heorhii Sudakov (Shakhtar Donetsk), Roman Bezus (Gent)

Forwards: Roman Yaremchuk (Gent), Artem Besedin (Dynamo Kyiv), Artem Dovbyk (Dnipro-1)

- North Macedonia

Winning four games, two draws, and four defeats, North Macedonia completed Group G in the third spot. After eliminating Kosovo and Georgia in playoff games, the team qualified for the EURO 2020.

The national team of North Macedonia will make their first appearance at a major tournament with the 37-year-old Goran Pandev.

Eljif Elmas has been the shining star of the team, scoring four goals in the qualifying round.

- Squad

Goalkeepers: Stole Dimitrievski (Rayo Vallecano), Damjan Siskovski (Doxa Katokopia), Riste Jankov (Rabotnicki)

Defenders: Stefan Ristovski (Dinamo Zagreb), Visar Musliu (Fehervar), Egzon Bejtulai (Shkendija), Kire Ristevski (Újpest), Gjoko Zajkov (Charleroi), Darko Velkovski (Rijeka), Ezdzan Alioski (Leeds)

Midfielders: Eljif Elmas (Napoli), Daniel Avramovski (Kayserispor), Darko Curlinov (Stuttgart), Marjan Radeski (Akademija Pandev), Arijan Ademi (Dinamo Zagreb), Enis Bardhi (Levante), Stefan Spirovski (AEK Larnaca), Boban Nikolov (Lecce), Tihomir Kostadinov (Ruzomberok), Ferhan Hasani (Partizani),

Forwards: Vlatko Stojanovski (Chambly), Krste Velkovski (Sarajevo), Milan Ristovski (Spartak Trnava), Goran Pandev (Genoa), Aleksandar Trajkovski (Mallorca), Ivan Trickovski (AEK Larnaca),

- Austria

Austria advanced to European competitions for the second time without ever tasting victory.

In qualifying round Group G, Austria won six games, drew one, and lost three, while they scored 19 goals and conceded nine goals.

Marko Arnautovic became the highest scoring Austrian player in the qualifying round with six goals.

David Alaba, who inked a 5-year contract with Real Madrid in May, is one of the integral parts of the Austrian national team.

- Squad

Goalkeepers: Alexander Schlager (LASK), Daniel Bachmann (Watford), Pavao Pervan (Wolfsburg),

Defenders: David Alaba (Bayern), Aleksandar Dragovic (Leverkusen), Marco Friedl (Werder Bremen), Martin Hinteregger (Frankfurt), Stefan Lainer (Monchengladbach), Philipp Lienhart (Freiburg), Stefan Posch (Hoffenheim), Christopher Trimmel (Union Berlin), Andreas Ulmer (Salzburg)

Midfielders: Valentino Lazaro (Internazionale), Marcel Sabitzer (Leipzig), Louis Schaub (Luzern), Xaver Schlager (Wolfsburg), Alessandro Schopf (Schalke), Julian Baumgartlinger (Leverkusen), Christoph Baumgartner (Hoffenheim), Florian Grillitsch (Hoffenheim), Stefan Ilsanker (Frankfurt), Konrad Laimer (Leipzig)

Forwards: Sasa Kalajdzic (Stuttgart), Karim Onisiwo (Mainz), Marko Arnautovic (Shanghai Port), Michael Gregoritsch (Augsburg)

- Fixtures

June 13 (GMT: 16.00): Austria vs. North Macedonia (National Arena, Bucharest)

June 13 (GMT: 19.00): The Netherlands vs. Ukraine (Johan Cruyff Arena-Amsterdam)

June 17 (GMT 13.00): Ukraine vs. North Macedonia (National Arena)

June 17 (GMT 19.00): The Netherlands vs. Austria (Johan Cruyff Arena)

June 21 (GMT 16.00): Ukraine vs. Austria (National Arena)

June 21 (GMT 16.00): North Macedonia vs. the Netherlands (Johan Cruyff Arena)