Oranje picked up a comfortable victory away to Malta on Thursday evening in a qualification match for the World Cup in 2026. Ronald Koeman’s side failed to impress but still managed to win 4-0 away in the Ta’qali National Stadium. Two penalties from Cody Gakpo and goals from Tijjani Reijnders and Memphis Depay helped seal the victory.
Despite the scoreline, it was another drab performance from Koeman’s side. Oranje have been far from entertaining in recent games, with some fans calling for Koeman to be replaced.
Koeman went with Wout Weghorst in the striker position. The Ajax forward was picked ahead of Donyell Malen. The usual striker, Memphis Depay, was not picked to start as he has not played much football for his side, Corinthians, recently, and was also late for the training camp after having his passport stolen.
Malta were actually given a significant chance to break the deadlock in the third minute when the Oranje captain Virgil van Dijk played a pass back to goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen without looking, with Joseph Mbong intercepting it. Van Dijk was fortunate as Mbong hit the effort wide of the goal.
Oranje took the lead in the 12th minute. Ryan Gravenberch was fouled by the Maltese defender Kurt Shaw, and Liverpool winger Cody Gakpo stepped up in the absence of Memphis Depay to convert the penalty.
Despite the lead, it did not prove to be the easy game for Oranje that many had been expecting. The home team fought their way into the game, getting into some dangerous positions at times, albeit their final ball letting them down.
Koeman’s side thought they had been given a second penalty in the 38th minute when referee Duje Strukan had pointed to the spot when Wout Weghorst’s header was blocked by the arm of Shaw, but the ref justifiably overturned the decision after a VAR check.
Oranje were given their second penalty of the game in the first minute after halftime. Strukan felt that Enrico Pepe had fouled Weghorst in the penalty area. Gakpo took the penalty once more and scored again to make it 0-2.
The third goal was scored in the 57th minute, and yet again, you could say it was gifted to Koeman’s men. Malta goalkeeper Henry Bonello made a poor error in possession, which gave Gakpo an easy pass to Tijjani Reijnders, who placed the ball into the vacant goal.
Oranje came close to making it 0-4 through Depay, who had come on as a substitute in the second half, but his shot went inches wide of the goal. Although this did not matter for Depay in the end, as the all-time record scorer for the national team got his goal with one of the last touches of the game.
Denzel Dumfries got another assist in Oranje colors, his 21st for the national side, with a hard cross to Depay, who reacted well to guide the ball home.
The Netherlands are top of Group G with 13 points out of five games. They face third-place Finland on Sunday in the Euroborg stadium in Groningen. The Fins are third in the qualifying group. They have 10 points while having played a game more than Oranje.