Tottenham's greatest matches against Dutch teams

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Tottenham Hotspur travel to the Netherlands for an away tie against AZ Alkmaar in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday night, a first visit to the country since a 1-0 defeat against Vitesse Arnhem under Nuno Espirito Santo in 2021.

However, not all clashes against Dutch sides have been as sour as their last visit to this immense footballing country, so we've explored some of The Lilywhites' greatest victories against teams from the Netherlands.

The Miracle of Amsterdam

A no-brainier in the creation of this feature, one of, if not arguably the greatest European night came 26 miles from where Spurs will play on Thursday night.

Well in the tie despite being 1-0 down from the first leg at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, a Harry Kane-less Tottenham made the trip to the Johan Cruyff Arena but found themselves in a dire position as the half-time whistle blew. Goals from Matthijs de Ligt and Hakim Ziyech landed the Dutch giants one foot in the final.

During the interval, fans of de Godenzonen could be heard belting out Bob Marley's 'Three Little Birds'; however, they had plenty to worry about in the second half.

The miracle which Spurs needed came to life in the 55th minute. Lucas Moura latched onto a flick from Dele before slotting into the corner past Andre Onana to ignite some hope. The Brazilian was then involved in the action again just four minutes later, picking up the ball after a goalmouth scramble and, after some incredible trickery, managed to squirm the ball into the corner to set up a tasty final half-hour.

With chances going begging - Jan Vertonghen crashing a header off the bar in the 87th minute - and the clock ticking away, those faint hopes of the 55th minute began to fade away, despite the feeling that they were so close to such a special comeback.

With just mere seconds remaining, the ball was pumped forward to cult hero Fernando Llorente, he nodded it down to Dele who flicked it on for Lucas and the rest is history.

The thrilling turn of events came just 24 hours after Liverpool had overcome a 3-0 deficit against Barcelona at Anfield, but the magical moment from Moura, as he bagged a hat-trick to complete a turnaround against all odds, will forever go down as one of, if not the greatest comeback in UEFA Champions League history, as Spurs reached their first ever final in the competition.

Clinging on for dear life

Three matches into their eventual Road to Madrid, Tottenham had yet to win a single game in the group stage, losing against both Inter Milan and Barcelona and drawing 2-2 away at PSV Eindhoven. They were staring right into the soul of elimination as PSV visited Wembley Stadium.

Proceedings couldn't have gotten off to a worse start for Mauricio Pochettino's men, with Luuk de Jong firing the visitors into a second-minute lead, his header beating Paulo Gazzaniga.

With time again fading, Harry Kane, captain on the night, struck an equaliser past Jeroen Zoet with twelve minutes to go, allowing the Spurs fans at Wembley to believe that they could be about to see their side just about scrape something out of the game.

As the clock hit the final minute of the ninety, Kane was on hand again - his header taking a ricochet before finding its way under Zoet and in to give The Lilywhites something to cling on to with two more group matches to be played.

Closing in on Euro glory

On a night when the great late Johan Cruyff came to N17, it was a young Glen Hoddle who stole the show as Tottenham went within touching distance of securing a date with Anderlecht in the UEFA Cup Final of 1984, which they eventually won.

Spurs raced into a 4-0 lead in the first half, with Hoddle involved in both the first and third goals, as well as registering assists for the second and fourth, capping off a truly remarkable performance, with Cruyff, an ageing star, choosing to man-mark the up and coming Englishman.

It was a night which signalled retirement for the three-time Ballon D'Or winner, whilst it opened up a career of bliss and prosperity for a new English great.

Despite Feyenoord scoring twice in the second half, a 2-0 victory for Keith Burkinshaw's side in the second leg at De Kuip saw Tottenham win the tie and face Anderlecht in the final, who they went on to beat.

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