Memphis Depay celebrates the first of its two goals for the Netherlands against Belgium. ANP via Getty Images
Memphis Depay saw a doubling after the Netherlands ended 25 years without success against neighbor Belgium with a 4-1 strike by their hosts in the League of Nations in Brussels on Friday.
Stephen Bergwine and Denzel Dumfries scored the other two goals after the Dutch ended Belgium’s nearly six-year-old unbeaten home record with a sharp turnaround for the team, which topped the FIFA rankings for three years until it was recently removed.
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Bergwyn hit home outside the penalty area in the 40th minute to give the Dutch a well-deserved lead at halftime, before Depay and Dumfries added a decisive run in the second half.
Belgium, who lost to Romelu Lukaku due to an injury at the start, consoled three minutes after added time through Mishi Batshuayi, but was poorly revealed from behind and the result will come as a serious failure in preparation for the World Cup later this year.
The Dutch, who last beat Belgium in 1997 and have had eight unsuccessful derbies since then, broke the hosts’ defense in the second half when Depay added a second in the 51st minute in a counterattack after a midfield theft by Davey Klaassen and a quick pass in the middle by Stephen Berghuis.
Defender Daily Blind reacted most quickly to a rebound after a save from a Berghuis shot 11 minutes later to score the third goal with a pass through the face of the goal that Dumfries scored in the back post.
Blind then gave another assist three minutes later with a header in the way of Depay, who skillfully pulled the ball with his thigh before hitting it past Simon Mignolet from close range.
“The fact that this international match comes after an exhausting season should not be an excuse. Certainly not when you play against the Netherlands,” said Mignolet.
“We have to learn from this. You can’t just let such a defeat pass you by.”
Belgium really seemed to score a consolation goal 13 minutes later, but Mishi Batshuai was offside in the accumulation of Timothy Castan, who scored the ball into the net. A VAR check refused Belgium’s goal, but they were comforted at the end of the match.
Belgium last lost a home game in a friendly against Spain in September 2016, when coach Roberto Martinez took his first game.
Dutch captain Virgil van Dyke said he was not surprised by the victory as a guest.
“We analyzed them well and carried out our plans, we did it very well,” he said. It was a great night.
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