SAN FRANCISCO, November 12, (THEWILL) –Â Manchester United’s new man Donny van de Beek made it two goals in as many games for the Dutch team as he cancelled out Sergio Canales’ debut strike for Spain in Wednesday’s 1-1 friendly draw.
The Netherlands were seeking their first win in four attempts under manager Frank de Boer but got off to a bad start at the Johan Cruijff ArenA.
Juventus striker Alvaro Morata marked his return to the national side with an assist for Canales’ well-taken opener but Van de Beek added to his goal against Italy last month to level matters.
Lyon forward Memphis Depay should have won the game for De Boer’s charges in a second half that saw Sergio Ramos come on to earn his 176th cap for Spain and equal the European record held by Italian great Gianluigi Buffon.
The hosts, who were already without captain and defender Virgil van Dijk, lost fellow centre-back Nathan Ake to an apparent hamstring injury inside the opening six minutes.
That only helped Spain’s flow and they took the lead through Canales’ calm finish past AZ Alkmaar keeper Marco Bizot after being played in by in-form striker Morata.
Luuk de Jong, the Sevilla striker, had a weak penalty appeal rejected and then tested debutant Unai Simon of Athletic Club, while Bizot was equal to Morata’s edge-of-the-box effort at the opposite end.
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But Van de Beek drew the Netherlands level two minutes into the second half as he ghosted in to meet left-back Owen Wijndal’s left-sided cross and drilled the ball home.
Koke, Atletico Madrid midfielder and another Spain player brought in from the cold to captain the side, volleyed over a glorious chance on the hour mark and Hector Bellerin’s low drive was pushed to safety.
An even bigger chance fell the way of Depay, who had time to get the ball out of his feet in the Spain box but could not squeeze the shot past Simon.
Ramos was brought on in the final stages for his landmark cap but the game ultimately petered out.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
