Jun 10, 2024, 16:40 ET
It was much more and he took a clear victory. Netherlands crushed Iceland by beating them 4-0 in a friendly match played in Rotterdam, four days before the start of the Euro Cup in Germany.
Both teams had just achieved valuable victories in other friendly matches. Thursday, The Netherlands beat Canada 4-0, which will be Argentina’s first rival in the imminent Copa América in the United States, in the opening match of said tournament. Meanwhile, on Friday Iceland hit the big time by beating England 1-0 at Wembleynothing less.
The local team beat the Nordic team without problems. The scoring was opened by young midfielder Xavi Simons, 23 minutes into the first half. In the second half, experienced central defender Virgil van Dijk increased the lead in the 49th minute and forward Donyell Malen in the 79th minute.
At 81, a figure from the Netherlands like Memphis Depay scored 4-0, but his goal was disallowed for offside. And when two minutes of extra time were played, it was Wout Weghorst who sealed the duel with a four-goal difference.
Netherlands, led by the historic central defender Ronald Koeman will participate in the Euro in group D, where he will have France, Austria and Poland as rivals. For its part, Iceland, led by Age Hareide, failed to qualify for the highest European national team competition.
Before the win over Canada, the Netherlands lost 2-1 to Germany. But their three previous duels were victories and without conceding goals: 4-0 against Scotland, 6-0 against Gibraltar and 1-0 against Ireland.
