Russia beats Netherlands 3-1 in extra time in Euro 2008 quarterfinals

The Associated Press , Basel, Switzerland | Sun, 06/22/2008 9:12 AM | Sports

Russia scored two goals in extra time Saturday to produce the biggest upset so far at the European Championship with a 3-1 win over the Netherlands.

Dimitry Torbinski and Andrei Arshavin scored within five minutes of each other in the second half of extra time. Roman Pavlyuchenko also scored for Russia, while Ruud van Nistelrooy scored for the Dutch in the 86th.

Russia, coached by former Netherlands manager Guus Hiddink, will face either Spain or Italy in the semifinals on Thursday in Vienna, Austria.

"I don't want to use big words but it is almost a miracle," Hiddink said after hobbling out of his dugout to dance with his players. "It is unbelievable how the boys performed. ... They outplayed tactically and physically the Dutch."

Coming off a draining do-or-die game on Wednesday against Sweden, the Russians were stronger than the Dutch stars who had sat out the last group game. It showed in the second half of extra time.

"We didn't play football, and never got into the game," Netherlands coach Marco van Basten said. "Normally we should have been in better shape than the Russians. We didn't see that."

Torbinski surged toward the far post in the 112th minute and hit a deep cross from Arshavin into the goal with the outside of his left foot. Arshavin scored the final goal in the 116th when his shot deflected off John Heitinga and went through the legs of goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar.

Van Nistelrooy had temporarily saved the Dutch late in the match, proving no one is more lethal from close range. From a free kick by Rafael van der Vaart, he wrestled himself away from Sergei Ignashevich and scored with a diving header at the far post.

In extra time, the inexperienced Russians hung in and scored their third straight upset victory. And after Germany had beaten the sparkling Portugal and Turkey edged surging Croatia, another stunner was in the making.

There were only a few thousand Russians within a sea of orange among the 38,374 fans, but they kept chanting "Rus-sia" long after the tens of thousands of oranje fans had fallen silent.

Pavlyuchenko scored his third goal of the tournament in the 56th when Sergei Semak found space in the center to send a low cross into the heart of the penalty area, where the Spartak Moscow striker beat Mathijsen and scored into the near corner.

Van der Sar, who had kept the Dutch in the game up to that point and was by far the team's best player, had no answer. And again there was no answer when Pavlyuchenko broke free on the right in the 96th, cut inside and shot past Van der Sar. This time the ball crashed onto the bar.

With the loss, the 37-year-old Van der Sar also ended his international career for the Netherlands.

The win further added to Hiddink's global credentials, and he is far from retiring. He led South Korea to a surprising semifinal place at the 2002 World Cup and Australia into the second round four years later - two stunning surprises. He also took his native Netherlands to the 1998 World Cup semifinals.

"The better Dutchman, our coach, won today," Arshavin said.

Now, his latest team is two games away from winning the European Championship. Ahead of the game, Hiddink had said he hoped to be the Dutch traitor. On a perfect night, it was his only regret.

"I don't like that word. The word traitor is a very bad word. Lets consider it a little bit lighter," he said.

Yet he prevailed when all the omens were against them. The Dutch had played the best football in the tournament, the stadium was full of orange-clad fans and Hiddink's players had been drained in Wednesday's game against Sweden.

On the other side, coach Marco van Basten coached his last game for the Netherlands. He moves to Ajax now that the tournament is over for his team.

It could even have been worse for the Dutch.

In the 107th, Yuri Zhirkov wanted a penalty when he swept past Heitinga, surged toward Van der Sar before Heitinga put his hand on his shoulder and stepped on his foot. Referee Lubos Michel disagreed with Zhirkov, motioning for the Russian to get up off the ground.

Russia reached its first semifinal match since it became an independent state in 1992 following the breakup of the Soviet Union. The Soviets lost to the Netherlands in the 1988 final and won the inaugural European Championship in 1960.

But not much was working for the Dutch on Saturday. Bad passes, bad control and no connection whatsoever between players who had gelled into such a tight unit in the group stage.

Even in front of goal, their touch was off.

Arjen Robben was ruled out with a recurrence of his groin injury just before the game, putting more pressure on winger Robin van Persie to stretch the defense when he came on in the second half.

The tactics had worked against France and Italy, but this time there was a sense of desperation about the move. Van Persie missed a header in the 64th, and seven minutes later he robbed Wesley Sneijder of a great opportunity on the edge of the box by sending it over. (****)

Lineups:

Russia: Igor Akinfeyev, Alexander Anyukov, Sergei Ignashevich, Denis Kolodin, Yuri Zhirkov, Konstantin Zyryanov, Igor Semshov (Diniyar Bilyaletdinov, 69), Sergei Semak, Roman Pavlyuchenko (Dmitry Sychev, 115), Andrei Arshavin, Ivan Sayenko (Dmitry Torbinski, 81).

Netherlands: Edwin van der Sar, Andre Ooijer, Joris Mathijsen, Khalid Boulahrouz (John Heitinga, 54), Nigel de Jong, Rafael van der Vaart, Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Wesley Sneijder, Orlando Engelaar (Ibrahim Afellay, 62), Ruud van Nistelrooy, Dirk Kuyt (Robin van Persie, 46).

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