France beat Netherlands in Johan Cruyff tribute match

France won 3-2 in an important friendly match to prepare for Euro 2016. For the Netherlands, the result was not as meaningful as the work done to remember and honor their recently deceased legend.

The friendly match at the Amsterdam Arena yesterday, March 25, was initially just a regular friendly match according to the international match schedule that had been set in advance. But with Johan Cruyff passing away at the age of 68 the day before, this match became a memorial match for him.Dutch football legend.

Flowers and a No. 14 shirt – the number Cruyff wore as a player – were placed on an empty seat in the VIP section. The number was also printed on the right sleeve of each Dutch player, but none of the home team players wore the shirt.

A minute's silence for Cruyff at the Amsterdam Arena. Photo: Reuters.

As the clock struck 14 minutes, the referee stopped the match to observe a minute's silence for Cruyff. His portrait was displayed on the big screen in the stadium. All the players, coaching staff and spectators present at the stadium, instead of silently commemorating, they all stood up and applauded to commemorate the statue that had just passed away. Below the statue, the electronic billboards running around also displayed the name Johan Cruyff and the year of his birth and death (1947-2016).

In addition to the above rituals, the players of both teams also tried their best to compete, creating an exciting score chase to show respect for Cruyff. The Netherlands, despite trying their best, had to accept the result of losing 2-3 to a stronger and much better French team.

The visitors opened the scoring in the sixth minute thanks to a beautiful left-footed free-kick from Atletico Madrid's in-form striker Antoine Griezmann. A minute before the match was stopped in honour of Cruyff, Olivier Giroud doubled France's advantage with a strike from the centre of the penalty area following a corner.

The Netherlands came back strongly after the break and reduced the score in the 47th minute, when substitute Memphis Depay set up Luke de Jong to finish. Depay, the disappointing star at Man Utd, continued to play the role of the creator for teammate Ibrahim Afellay to score accurately with his right foot, equalizing 2-2 in the 86th minute.

France (in white) has an important friendly match to complete the squad for Euro 2016. Photo: Reuters.

However, the hope that the Netherlands had raised was quickly extinguished by France when the match ended just one minute later. Depay's teammate at Man Utd, Martial passed the ball to midfielder Blaise Matuidi who finished with his left foot from a tight angle, beating goalkeeper Cillessen, sealing a 3-2 victory for the French team.

According to VNE