As the group stages come to a close, many stars have shown their true talent during the start of the 2020 Euros. A name that many wouldn’t have thought to be up there for stardom is Holland's unsung hero Denzel Dumfries. In a squad with a plethora of attacking talent such as Memphis Depay, Steven Berguis, Quincy Promes and fellow club teammate Donyell Malen, Denzel Dumfries has managed to dominate the right side of the pitch and show an attacking threat that many of his teammates have failed to do. The 25-year-old mainly plays at right-back for his club PSV Eindhoven as well as the national team, but with his attacking mentality, his push to right midfield is just as effective.
In just three games, Netherlands coach Frank De Boer has put faith in his young star by starting him every time. Making his debut for the senior Netherlands squad in 2018, Dumfries has only made 22 appearances but after two consistently prolific seasons for PSV, his place on the ride side was absolutely certain going into the tournament. So far that decision has paid off well for the Dutchmen, he’s started at right mid all three games and had three wins to compliment the performance. During the opening game against Ukraine, Dumfries had a powerful part to play and scored the winner after a frightening comeback by the opponents. As for the second game against Austria, Dumfries performed even better, the midfielder scored and assisted for a man of the match performance to get another three points off of a 2-0 win. Although the third game didn’t see Dumfries contributing on the score sheet, he still played a convincing 45 minutes to see a 3-0 victory over North Macedonia.
Playing as a right midfield/wingback in the Dutch 3-4-3 formation, Dumfries has made a name for himself on the big stage. As they progress further in the tournament, their first challenge will be in the round of 16 against the Czech Republic, who have been quite a force in a group with the likes of England and Croatia. It’s most likely that we will see Dumfries line up against Thomas Soucek and Jan Boril who play an aggressive and strong type of play who shut down attacks quickly. As Dumfries has shown previously, that head-butting mashup will be a key point to watch during the match but it looks like Dumfries may get an edge with his speed. Rumour and talks have spread amongst many of Europe's top clubs such as FC Bayern and Everton who are eyeing the agile wingback for the upcoming 2020-2021 club season. For the time being, Dumfries' focus must be on the Euro’s as he has much to prove. The Netherlands are yet to concede a goal in the tournament and are looking to continue that pattern again, catch Dumfries shine for the Dutch squad once again on Sunday, June 25th.