Nations League 2022 - Netherlands crush Belgium as Barcelona forward Memphis Depay scores twice

Memphis Depay was at the double as the Netherlands thrashed Belgium 4-1 to start their UEFA Nations League campaign in style. The Barcelona striker was in devastating form and was joined by Steven Bergwijn and Denzel Dumfries on the scoresheet as the Dutch ran out emphatic winners in the first competitive meeting between the nations since the 1998 World Cup.

Ad/> Belgium started strongly and could have been ahead but for the crossbar as Timothy Castagne went agonisingly close — but the momentum shifted when Romelu Lukaku was forced off with injury, with the visitors taking control. FootballKoeman to replace Van Gaal as Netherlands manager after World Cup06/04/2022 AT 10:26 Simon Mignolet came to Belgium’s rescue to repel Steven Berghuis.

Chances kept coming amid a few jeers from the home supporters, but the Netherlands’ radar was slightly off with Danny Blind also curling just wide. That was until Bergwijn found the space for a shot a few minutes before half-time.

After controlling Frenkie De Jong’s pass, he unleashed a fierce drive into the bottom corner beyond Mignolet to break the deadlock. Benzema overshadowed by Cornelius as Denmark claim shock Nations League win 'I will do what they want' — Mane hints at Liverpool exit amid Bayern speculation 'It must not happen again' — UEFA apologises to fans and launches review into Champions Legue chaos Roberto Martinez handed Eden Hazard his first competitive start of any kind in five months and also gave the Real Madrid star the captain’s armband, but he was hooked off at half-time after a below-par performance.