On Friday, the Netherlands broke a 25-year drought against Belgium with a 4-1 thrashing of their hosts in the Nations League in Brussels. Memphis Depay scored a hat trick.
The other two goals came from Steven Bergwijn and Denzel Dumfries. The Dutch ruined Belgium’s nearly six-year undefeated home record in a stunning turnaround for the squad, which had dominated the FIFA rankings for three years until being dislodged lately.
Bergwijn scored from beyond 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, got a consolation goal via Michy Batshuayi three minutes into stoppage time but were exposed at the back, and the loss will be a major blow as they prepare for the World Cup later this year.
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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 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.
“This international match follows a long season should not be used as an excuse. For example, not when you’re up against the Netherlands, “Mignolet said.
“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 review, although they did score a consolation goal after 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 shocked by the away victory. “We did an excellent job of analyzing them and executing our ideas. It was a fantastic evening.”
