A below-strength Netherlands side ended Romania's hopes of advancing to the quarter-finals as Marco van Basten's side eased to a 2-0 victory in Berne.Van Basten made nine changes to the side that had thrashed France 4-1, although both Arjen Robben and Robin van Persie started and it was the Arsenal man that was the star of the show.
He deserved his late goal after Klaas-Jan Huntelaar had opened the scoring in the 54th minute following a tame first half.
The Dutch had already won through to the last eight after cruising to victories against Italy and France, but it was a crucial game for Romania who had the chance to knock both the 2006 World Cup finalists out.
After a tight opening to the match, the first chance was not created until midway through the first half when Huntelaar looked set to shoot until Cosmin Contra got a foot in to deny the highly-rated Ajax striker.
When Romania attacked, Adrian Mutu and Contra tried their luck with long-range efforts that failed to trouble Maarten Stekelenburg in the Dutch goal.
Robben missed a great chance to break the deadlock eight minutes before half-time. The Real Madrid man poked a shot past Bogdan Lobont, but the ball dribbled agonisingly wide of the goal.
Just before half-time Romania should have taken the lead when Razvan Rat pulled the ball back from the byline for Paul Codrea, who fired over the bar when he surely had to hit the target.
The Dutch stepped up the pace at the start of the second half and, in the 50th minute, van Persie did brilliantly to control a long ball forward. The Arsenal man then turned Gabriel Tamas and seemed certain to score, only for Lobont to pull off a stunning save.
However, four minutes later van Basten's side deservedly scored when a quick counter-attack ended with Huntelaar turning the ball home from ten yards out.
With news coming through from Zurich that Italy were beating ten-man France, the rest of the match petered out as Romania wilted.
The Dutch strolled through the rest of the second half and added a second goal with three minutes left, when the outstanding van Persie lashed a shot past Lobont after controlling the ball perfectly on his chest.
Holland will now play either Sweden or Russia in Saturday's quarter-final, while Romania are heading home.
Full Main Highlights (08:10 min)
1-0 Klaas Jan Huntelaar 54′
2-0 Robin van Persie 87′
Netherlands squad has 'clicked' - Robben
Netherlands 2-0 Romania
14(6) Shots (on Goal) 8(1)
11 Fouls 11
2 Corner Kicks 1
2 Offsides 4
51% Time of Possession 49%
0 Yellow Cards 1
0 Red Cards 0
1 Saves 3
Netherlands: Stekelenburg, Boulahrouz (Melchiot 58), Heitinga, Bouma, De Cler, De Zeeuw, Engelaar, Afellay, Van Persie, Robben (Kuyt 62), Huntelaar (Vennegoor of Hesselink 82).
Subs Not Used: Van der Sar, Timmer, Ooijer, Mathijsen,Van Bronckhorst, van Nistelrooy, Sneijder, De Jong, Van der Vaart.
Goals: Huntelaar 54, Van Persie 87.
Romania: Lobont, Contra, Tamas, Ghionea, Rat, Cocis, Codrea (Dica 72), Chivu, Nicolita (Petre 82), Marius Niculae (Daniel Niculae 59), Mutu.
Subs Not Used: Popa, Stancioiu, Marica, Sapunaru, Moti, Cristea, Radu.
Booked: Chivu.
Att: 32,000
Ref: Massimo Busacca (Switzerland).
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