UEFA Nations League
The Netherlands broke a 25-year drought against Belgium with a 4-1 thrashing of their hosts in the Nations League in Brussels on Friday.
The other two goals came from Steven Bergwijn and Denzel Dumfries, as the Dutch ended Belgium’s almost six-year unbeaten home record in a stunning reversal for the squad, which had topped the FIFA rankings for three years before being dislodged lately. Bergwijn scored from outside the box in the 40th minute to give the Dutch a merited halftime lead, before Depay and Dumfries added to their tally in the second half.
Belgium, who lost Romelu Lukaku to injury early on, scored a consolation goal through Michy Batshuayi three minutes into stoppage time but were exposed at the back and the loss will be a major setback as they prepare for the World Cup later this year. After a midfield steals from Davy Klaassen and a quick pass down the middle from Steven Berghuis, the Dutch ripped apart the Belgian defense in the second half. Depay added the second in the 51st minute on a counterattack after a midfield steals from Davy Klaassen and a quick pass down the middle from Steven Berghuis.
11 minutes later, fullback Daley Blind was first to react to a rebound off a Berghuis save, setting up the third goal with a cross across the face of the goal that Dumfries tucked in at the back post. Three minutes later, Blind supplied another assist with a header into the path of Depay, who deftly brought the ball down with his thigh before thumping it past Simon Mignolet from close range.
“The fact that this international match follows a long season should not be used as an excuse. Not when you’re up against the Netherlands, for example “Mignolet stated.
“We must take note of this. You can’t let a failure like this go unnoticed.”
Belgium had a chance to score 13 minutes from time, but Michy Batshuayi was caught offside in the build-up to Timothy Castagne’s goal. Belgium was denied by a VAR check, although they did score a consolation goal near the end of the game. When coach Roberto Martinez took command of his first game, Belgium lost a friendly against Spain in September 2016.
Virgil van Dijk, the captain of the Netherlands, claimed he was not surprised by the away win. “We did an excellent job of analysing them and executing our ideas. It was a fantastic evening.”