The Netherlands and Romania knew that whoever would win would have to face Spain in the final of the U19 Euros after their spectacular 6-5 win over Germany.
The young Dutchmen started with a different line-up for the fourth tournament game running, switching back to manager Peter van der Veen's ideal line-up as opposed to the switched-up side that beat England 4-2 in the final group stage match.
Romania manager Marin Ion switched his side up in two places, handing Jason Kodor the start over David Barbu, who's scored twice this tournament, and starting Ianis Turba over David Pacuraru.
The imperative Dutch team immediately looked to build a margin over their Romanian counterparts after a perfect start to the tournament. The Netherlands beat England 3-0 and Norway 2-0 before eliminating a poor England side with a 4-2 win.
Against Romania, the Netherlands showed attacking intent and put constant pressure on Romania in the opening phase. A reward for their efforts came 36 minutes after kick-off, when Ajax striker Don-Angelo Konadu somewhat luckily ricocheted the ball into the Romanian net for the opening goal.
Six minutes later, Dutch stalwart Kees Smit doubled the Dutch lead with a composed effort in the bottom left corner, giving the Netherlands a comfortable leading heading into half-time.
Smit, who'd scored three goals in as many matches before Monday's semi-final, provided his first assist of the tournament when Aymen Sliti fired the ball past Mate Simon, who earned his second-straight start, for the 3-0.
Unable to make a difference in the match, Romania still managed to get one back against the Netherlands when the subbed on David Barbu fired at the Dutch goal and the ball flew over Joeri Heerkens's head after being touched by Dies Janse on the way.
The Romanians forced themselves back in the game and took more control over the match, but it were the Netherlands who got closer to scoring again when Kees Smit's free-kick hit the wall and substitute Zepiqueno Redmond saw a close-range effort get saved by Simon.
A relatively worry-free game saw the Netherlands progress to their first-ever final at the Under-19 European Championships, after reaching it thrice when it were the U18 Euros, with a 3-1 win. They will face Spain in Thursday's final showpiece.
View all the match statistics on Flashscore.
