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After an emotional day at Euro 2020, I was ready to sit down on this Sunday in my neck of the woods and watch our big Dutch baby boy make his major tournament debut when the Netherlands takes on Ukraine.
Unfortunately, while putting this here thread together, I came across the following post from the Twitter machine:
Frank de Boer has confirmed that Matthijs de Ligt won't play for the Netherlands against Ukraine tomorrow. So no De Ligt or Van Dijk at the back for their Euro 2020 opener.
— Andy Scott (@andpscott) June 12, 2021
Well, ain’t that disappointing. The lone Juventus player on today’s schedule is not going to be stepping foot on the field outside of maybe a pre-game walk through or giving a few teammates a high five after the game if he is allowed to sit on the bench.
Sunday will not be Matthijs de Ligt day. We will have to wait a few more days before de Ligt is 100 percent healthy and available to be the man at the heart of the Dutch defense.
So, that means the de Ligt-less schedule for the day is as follows:
- England vs. Croatia
- Austria vs. North Macedonia
- Netherlands vs. Ukraine
You’ve got the big name in England. You’ve got the Cinderella story in North Macedonia. You’ve got a perennial power in de Ligt and the other Dutchmen looking to get back to their previous levels.
Seems like a decent day for football, right? Hopefully it’s better than yesterday, because that sure was quite the unexpected turn that nobody wanted to see happen.
MATCH INFO: England vs. Croatia
When: 3 p.m. in Europe; 2 p.m. local time in the United Kingdom; 9 a.m. on the East Coast; 6 a.m. on the West Coast
Where: Wembley Stadium, London, England
HOW TO WATCH
Television: ESPN (United States); TSN1, TSN5 (Canada); BBC One (United Kingdom)
Online/mobile: WatchESPN, TUDN,com (United States); TSN.ca, TSN app (Canada); BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport Web (United Kingdom)
MATCH INFO: Austria vs. North Macedonia
When: 6 p.m. local time and across Europe; 5 p.m. in the United Kingdom; 12 p.m. on the East Coast; 9 a.m. on the West Coast
Where: Arena Naţională, Bucharest, Romania
HOW TO WATCH
Television: ESPN (United States); TSN1, TSN5 (Canada); ITV 1 UK (United Kingdom)
Online/mobile: WatchESPN, TUDN,com (United States); TSN.ca, TSN app (Canada); The ITV Hub (United Kingdom)
MATCH INFO: Netherlands vs. Ukraine
When: 9 p.m. local time and across Europe; 8 p.m. in the United Kingdom; 3 p.m. on the East Coast; 12 p.m. on the West Coast
Where: Johan Cruijff Arena, Amsterdam, Netherlands
HOW TO WATCH
Television: ESPN (United States); TSN3, TSN5 (Canada); ITV 1 UK (United Kingdom)
Online/mobile: WatchESPN, TUDN,com (United States); TSN.ca, TSN app (Canada); The ITV Hub (United Kingdom)
Other live viewing options can be found here, and as always, you can also follow along with us live and all the stupid things we say on Twitter. If you haven’t already, join the community on Black & White & Read All Over, and join in the discussion below.