Dutch coach Frank de Boer got his first win as Netherlands head coach as two goals from Liverpool’s Georginio Wijnaldum led them to a 3-1 UEFA Nations League victory over Bosnia-Herzegovina.
de Boer has had an inauspicious start as Ronald Koeman’s successor with Oranje. He suffered a friendly loss to Mexico and followed that with three consecutive draws, most recently against Spain on Friday, November 13.
Fortunately, Wijnaldum turned on the extra burners on Sunday for the coach to have his first taste of victory with the side. The Liverpool central midfielder broke through in the sixth minute when he converted from Denzel Dumfries’ pass after a fine move involving Memphis Depay.
Barcelona central midfielder Miralem Pjanic shot wide from a promising opportunity and Bosnia-Herzegovina were promptly punished for such wastefulness. Wijnaldum turned in his second for the day after Steven Berghuis nodded Memphis Depay’s cross back across the box.
When Luuk de Jong tapped in from Berghuis’ cut-back in the 28th minute, the assistant referee incorrectly raised his flag for offside. With no VAR present to correct the call, the chance for 3-0 was delayed.
Bosnia-Herzegovina have goalkeeper Ibrahim Secic to thank for staying in the contest early in the second half. Secic denied Berghuis after good work from Depay and then dived low to keep out the Lyon man’s strike.
But there was nothing even he could to stop Depay from making it 3-0 in the 55th minute. The Lyon forward tapped in a simple finish after Dumfries charged through a challenge from Sead Kolasinac.
Smail Prevljak, Eupen’s centre forward, got a goal back with his first touch, firing low past Dutch keeper Tim Krul. It was his team’s first shot on target after 63 minutes of play.
The result puts Netherlands top of Group A1. They are a point above Poland and two ahead of Italy, though having played a game more than each. It means Wales head into Wednesday’s final round knowing a win would see them qualify for the Finals.
But Bosnia-Herzegovina’s defeat means they will be relegated to League B.
Netherlands conclude their Group A1 campaign against Poland in Chorzow, while Bosnia-Herzegovina host Italy in Sarajevo. Both of those matches are on Wednesday.
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.
