BRUSSELS: Netherlands’ Memphis Depay struck twice to earn his team a historic feat against the home side Belgium, who lost to the Dutch after 25 years, in the UEFA Nations League Group D match.
The Barcelona striker Depay looked in a fierce form as Steven Bergwijn and Denzel Dumfries also shared the team’s thumping lead of four goals. Belgium retaliated with a lone goal by Michy Batshuayi in the extra time.
Belgium started aggressively and could have taken a lead early on if Timothy Castagne hadn’t hit the crossbar, but the tide turned towards the Netherlands when Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku was taken off after an injury.
Bergwijin netted the ball for the first time in the 40th minute of the game, rendering his opponents to a deficit before the halftime.
Netherland completely dominated the opponents in the second half as Depay hit home in the 51st minute. Dumfries also got into the action and kicked the ball into the net in the 61st minute, quickly followed by Depay’s second blow in the 65th minute to thrash Belgium out of the game.
Netherlands will now be playing against Poland and Wales-the other two teams in Group D- after starting their UEFA Nations League campaign on a high note.
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