Netherlands provided a reminder of their collective ability as they stunned Portugal by claiming an impressive 3-0 win at Stade de Geneve on Monday.
Portugal met Netherlands in their final fixture of the international break as they continued their preparations for the World Cup. The Dutch, on the other hands, were playing their second game of the Ronald Koeman era, with the national hero continuing the rebuild job following the side’s failure to qualify for the summer’s competition.
It was Portugal who started the game the brighter of the two sides, dominating the possession and enjoying spells of play in the final third. But, like in their previous game, the end product was lacking and unlike Egypt, Netherlands made them pay by being more clinical.
Donny van de Beek sent in a scuffed effort from the edge of the box in the 11th minute, and Memphis Depay was the first one to reach the ball as he shot first time to score past Anthony Lopes. The Seleccao then tried to claw their way back into the game, but were met with stubborn resistance by the five-man Dutch backline.
On the other end of the pitch, Memphis Depay continued looking lively, giving a vulnerable Portuguese defence some jittery moments. Portugual’s frustrations boiled over further at the half-hour mark as Cristiano Ronaldo’s call for a penalty was waived off, although the replays showed that he fell down as a result of kicking the ground.
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Koeman’s men doubled their lead shortly after as Ryan Babel turned in Matthijs de Ligt’s pacy cross from close range. Meanwhile, Portugal couldn’t create any real openings and were restricted to half chances and speculative efforts, meaning Jasper Cillessen had a largely easy night in the Netherlands goal.
Things went from bad to worse for Fernando Santos & co. as Netherlands captain Virgil van Dijk added a third goal for his side on the stroke of half-time, driving a half volley into the bottom right corner. Post the half-time break Portugal dominated the proceedings once again, with Ronaldo coming close before being pulled back for being offside.
Cillessen suddenly had much more to do as he denied Ricardo Quaresma, who tried to score with his trademark outside-of-the-boot effort. Santos introduced the likes of Andre Silva, Gelson Martins and Goncalo Guedes in quick succession to make a difference in attack, but Netherlands defended resolutely, with van Dijk keeping the backline organised.
All hopes of a Portuguese comeback though, were dashed just post the hour mark as Joao Cancelo was sent off for a second bookable offence following a late challenge on Tonny Vilhena. With the match looking over, Ronaldo was given an early night off, as he was replaced by Joao Moutinho.
Portugal did continue to dominate the proceedings despite Ronaldo’s substitution, but the end product continued to remain absent. Cillessen, in fact, had only one more save of note as denied Goncalo Guedes late into the game to keep his clean sheet intact, and he also had van de Beek for a goal-line clearance in stoppage time.
So, it’s back to the drawing board for Fernando Santos as the last international break of the season ends on a disappointing note for the European champions. Netherlands, on the other hand, look to be on the right track under Koeman following a stirring win on Monday.
