An injury time equalizer from Mikel Merino resulted in a 2-2 draw between The Netherlands and Spain in the first leg of their UEFA Nations League quarter finals. Oranje had taken the lead through goals from Cody Gakpo and Tijjani Reijnders after Nico Williams had given Spain the lead in De Kuip.
The second leg will be played in Valencia on Sunday evening. Oranje will have to play against the reigning European champions without Jorrel Hato. The Ajax defender was sent off in the closing stages due to a dangerous tackle.
Justin Kluivert was a surprising inclusion in the Oranje 11. A spot had come free in the midfield as Ryan Gravenberch left the training camp with an injury. Memphis Depay also started in his first appearance for the national side in months.
It was a poor start for Ronald Koeman’s side as Spain took the lead in the ninth minute. Jorrel Hato lost possession to Lamine Yamal in a dangerous position. The winger found his FC Barcelona teammate Pedri, who then played the ball onto Nico Williams in the box. The young winger spun before converting the opportunity.
Spain had a slight chance to double their lead in the 19th minute, but Marc Cucurella’s cross did not have enough pace on it resulting in Alvaro Morata’s header going wide.
Oranje equalized in the 28th minute and once again it was Cody Gakpo getting on the scoresheet for the national side. Jeremie Frimpong did well to start the attack on the wing and it resulted in Kluivert staying calm on the edge of the area and playing the ball to Gakpo, who smashed it hard into the near corner.
A notable moment came in the 40th minute as Dean Huijsen came on to make his first start for Spain. Huijsen played for the Netherlands youth sides and was born in Amsterdam. He grew up in Spain and opted to play for the Spanish. He was booed when coming onto the pitch and throughout the match by the crowd in Rotterdam.
Oranje learned from their mistake in the first half by making a perfect start to the second. Frimpong was at the center of the goal once again. The winger played a one two with Tijjani Reijnders and it ended up with the midfielder placing the ball into the far corner.
Koeman’s side were comfortable with their lead until a sending off changed matters. It was Hato, whose night went from bad to worse, that was issued a red card for a late challenge on Robin Le Normand.
This led to more attacks from Spain and eventually resulted in the 2-2. Williams cut inside before shooting toward the goal. The shot seemed quite harmless, but goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen saw the ball late, which resulted in him pushing the ball out straight to Mikel Merino. The Arsenal midfielder only had to tap the ball home to rescue a point for the away team.