Welcoming Malta at home in Groningen, the Netherlands team is expected to have no difficulty in winning against an opponent 160 places lower in the FIFA rankings. The superior level of the star players really brought too many advantages to the "Oranje" right from the opening whistle.
Memphis Depay opened the scoring early from the penalty spot
With the strongest lineup deployed by coach Ronald Koeman, "Orange Cyclone" did not hide their intention to strike first to end the match early. The score was opened in the 9th minute when Memphis Depay scored accurately from the penalty spot.
Former MU striker scored twice in less than 20 minutes
Less than 10 minutes later, Depay continued to score his second goal of the match from an accurate pass from Denzel Dumfries. The speed, technique and diverse finishing ability of the Atletico Madrid striker completely confused the Malta defense.
As the clock ticked to the 20th minute, captain Van Dijk contributed with the third goal, raising the score to 3-0, ending the first half of the Netherlands' complete dominance.
Captain Van Dijk contributed with the third goal
After the break, the home team continued to maintain the pressure. Instead of slowing down to conserve energy, the orange team accelerated their attacks, leaving Malta unable to react. From the 61st minute until the end of the match, the Netherlands scored 5 more goals. Donyell Malen shone with a double, while Xavi Simons,
Noa Lang and Micky van de Ven also scored to seal an 8-0 victory.
Xavi Simons contributed to the Netherlands' 8-0 victory
The big win helped the Netherlands have a full 6 points after two matches, continuing to follow the leader Finland - the team that has played 2 more matches and is currently only 1 point ahead of "Oranje". This is a positive signal for coach Koeman's team in the journey back after the 2022 World Cup did not go as expected.
With high form and a balanced squad, the Netherlands are proving that they are one of the most formidable teams in Europe at the moment.
Fans of the "Orange Storm" have every right to expect a successful qualifying campaign and, further, an impressive journey at the 2026 World Cup.
In Group G , Finland surprisingly defeated Poland without superstar Robert Lewandowski in the squad with a score of 2-1. This victory helped the Nordic team temporarily surpass the heavyweight candidate Netherlands to take the top spot in the group with 1 more point and having played 2 more matches.
Source: https://nld.com.vn/ha-lan-malta-depay-toa-sang-dai-tiec-ban-thang-o-groningen-196250611063955208.htm
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