In order to gain advantage of their two-legged tie in the Nations League, Ronald Koeman's Netherlands hosted the Euro 2024 winners, Spain, at De Kuip on Thursday evening – and after a rocky start to the night, the away nation had Mikel Merino's late equaliser to thank as the scoreline finished 2-2.
Nico Williams, Atheltic Bilbao's superstar, opened the scoring within ten minutes by receiving the ball, swiveling and finishing past Bart Verbruggen with ease. Advantage to Luis de la Fuente's men, who looked dangerous during every attack they mustered.
Despite calls from the home contingent to attack, Spain's well-drilled set-up cut anything exciting out at source. That was until Gakpo drew the Dutch level after some brilliant work by Jeremie Frimpong on the right – "Euphoria in Rotterdam!" exclaimed the commentator as the fans erupted into raptures.
A scintillating start to the second 45, Reijnders' cute finish into the bottom left corner was all they deserved after how they entered the break. Once again, the ever-energetic Frimpong was instrumental as he burst up the right flank and squared it to his eagerly awaiting compatriot.
The visiting nation were somewhat rejuvenated by their host of changes with just 24 minutes left of regulation time - but the introductions of Dani Olmo, Ayoze Perez and Mikel Oyarzabal were to no avail, as they were handed an unlikely draw.
With the score poised at 2-1 to Oranje and the Spaniards looking increasingly threatening, Jorrel Hato's needless red card sent the hosts into defence mode. To conclude an absorbing first leg, they parked plenty of men behind the ball in an attempt to keep their opponents to just one goal – and that they did until the dying embers.
Deep into stoppage time, Brighton's Bart Verbruggen couldn't hold William's shot and, thus, parried it out into the vicinity of substitute Mikel Merino, who was on hand to gobble the chance up and slot it home, despite the Netherlands' best efforts to keep their goal dry.
Netherlands vs Spain - Match Statistics
Netherlands
40
10
4
2
5
2
Netherlands Player Ratings
netherlands vs spain
GK – Bart Verbruggen – 5/10
A tad out of sort for Williams' goal, the Brighton shot stopper did not look awfully confident in between the sticks – as evidenced by his 40% success rate from long balls in the first half. Poor goalkeeping for Merino's equaliser.
RB – Lutsharel Geertruida – 6/10
Endured a shaky start to proceedings but grew into the game and did a good job at keeping the tricky Williams under wraps for the best part of the 90-minute encounter in Rotterdam.
CB – Virgil van Dijk – 6/10
A typically imposing performance from the skipper himself and acted as a threat in both boxes, using his height – and overall size – to his advantage as always. The less active of the Dutch centre-backs, you can always count on Van Dijk, can't you?
CB – Jan Paul van Hecke – 7/10
Making just his third national team appearance, the Brighton & Hove Albion man was composed in possession and measured out of it. His passing was a reliable aspect of the Netherlands' impressive performance on home soil and he was defensively sound too.
LB – Jorrel Hato – 5/10
His error led to Spain's first of the night as Yamal, too easily, won back possession of the ball and attacked the home side's six-yard box. That said, he hugely improved post-error but was then shown a straight red card for a studs-up challenge on Le Normand.
CM – Frenkie de Jong – 7.5/10
His nation's brightest spark in the engine room, especially in the early sparring, de Jong controlled proceedings from deep, allowing his midfield partners time and space to maraud forward and make the difference. A classy display.
CM – Tijjani Reijnders – 8/10
The opening stages of the first half somewhat bypassed the AC Milan midfield operator with de Jong doing the majority of the heavy lifting. Let off a well-taken strike in the 42nd minute, one that kissed the crossbar. Also proved he's got a classy finish in his repertoire.
RW – Jeremie Frimpong – 9/10
Insanely quick, Geertruida's defensive solidity gave the 24-year-old an unlimited amount of freedom on the right flank. That was highlighted by Koeman's side's first goal – oh, and the second. A constant thorn throughout, Frimpong was, far and away, the Netherlands' shining light.
CAM – Justin Kluivert – 6/10
Bournemouth's in-form talisman often drifted from side to side but also looked to be bright and positive with the ball at his feet. Far too sloppy in the second half, which allowed Spain to overturn possession on a couple of occasions.
LW – Cody Gakpo – 7.5/10
Seemingly lost a yard of pace following his recent injury, the Liverpool forward unleashed a pack-a-punch to draw his country level. The forward's ball-striking talent was on display again even if he was a tad quiet elsewhere.
ST – Memphis Depay – 7/10
Tried his best to give the young Cubarsi – and then Huijsen – a difficult evening and the former Manchester United and Barcelona man is looking galvanised following his start to life in Brazil with Corinthians. Often dropped deep to link up play while letting the aforementioned names license to thrive.
Sub – Xavi Simons (74') – 5/10
The first change for Koeman and his entourage, the diminutive playmaker had a tempting shot deflected in the 78th minute as he looked to put the clash to bed.
Sub – Teun Koopmeiners (74') – 4/10
Koeman's men evidently had much less control upon hooking de Jong and bringing on Koopmeiners – but that's not the 27-year-old's role at club level.
Sub – Matthijs de Ligt (84') – 3/10
The experience of Manchester United's de Ligt was relied upon after Hato received his marching orders. Operating in the middle, he was solid.
Sub – Mats Wieffer (90') – 3/10
Brought on late to keep the Netherlands' lead – well, how did that go?
Spain Player Ratings
spain vs netherlands
GK – Unai Simon – 5/10
Alert to Cucurella's mishap in the 22nd minute, which saved Spain's blushes somewhat and remained alert throughout. Had no chance of thwarting Gakpo's lethal hit and was helpless for Reijnder's well-taken finish.
RB – Pedro Porro – 4/10
Not very physically imposing, but covered the spaces well in the early stages. He was also given freedom to get up and down the flank early on but the Netherlands' ever-increasing pressure restricted how far he could venture from the right-back berth.
CB – Pau Cubarsi – 5/10
Young and inexperienced, Cubarsi embodies the saying 'a mature head on young shoulders'. What was interesting was that he, albeit sometimes, looked rocky defending in something different to Barcelona's high line. Forced off with an injury five minutes shy of the interval.
CB – Robin Le Normand – 6/10
Perfectly punched a number of balls into his fellow countryman when under pressure and had to re-adjust when Cubarsi went off injured. As the most seasoned defender for Spain, he defended well.
LB – Marc Cucurella – 4/10
As mentioned, Cucurella had his goalkeeper to thank in the first half after a loose ball confused proceedings at the back. Tried to match the energy of Frimpong but was often caught chasing shadows in a dire attempt to prevent the right-winger.
CM – Martin Zubimendi – 5/10
Playing in the role often fulfiled by the injured Rodri, Zubimendi – linked to an array of sides in the Premier League – marshalled in front of Spain's back line with poise but sometimes found himself out of position.
CM – Pedri – 7/10
The midfielder's sumptuous ball for Williams' goal was pinpoint and if anyone was to get Spain back into the game, it was the 22-year-old Barcelona gem. With talent oozing out of both ears, Pedri was unlucky to be on the losing side.
CM – Fabian Ruiz – 5/10
Having played 35 times for Spain and never lost, La Roja's lucky charm was allowed to maraud thanks to Zubimendi's robust positioning.
RW – Lamine Yamal – 5/10
Picked the pocket of Hato in the game's early embers to launch an attack. Typically a threat down the right-hand side, Yamal endured a tough day at the office against the imposing duo of Hato and Van Dijk, who operated on the left-hand side of the Dutch back line.
ST – Alvaro Morata – 4/10
Seldom involved in proceedings early on, with the majority of Spain's joy enjoyed on either flank, the seasoned line-leader – his nation's all-time top goalscorer – needed to offer more.
LW – Nico Williams – 5.5/10
Scoring his first goal for Spain since that final, William's close control, swivel and finish proved why he is so sought after. Had very little joy following his goal in the ninth minute and, in fact, looked a shadow of his glittering self.
Sub – Dean Huijsen (41') – 5/10
On for the injured Cubarsi, Netherlands-born Huijsen played his very first match for Spain. Because of his background, he was boo'd at every given opportunity but the youngster dealt with the pressure well. Booked for a reckless challenge.
Sub – Ayoze Perez (66') – 3/10
Keen to make a difference, Spain's No.9 received a booking to rule him out of the reverse fixture on Sunday. A needless, and rather disappointing, mistake by the Villarreal man.
Sub – Dani Olmo (66') – 5/10
You could see the Barcelona star trying to get things to tick over for the Spaniards, getting on the ball and spraying it at every given chance.
Sub – Mikel Oyarzabal (66') – 5/10
A goalscorer in the Euro 2024 final, the seasoned forward looked lively in his limited minutes but was unable to restore parity for his nation.
Sub – Mikel Merino (84') – 7/10
Arsenal's makeshift striker was brought on to make a difference in the heart of the midfield late on and he was on hand to notch Spain's late equalising goal to shock the venue.
Man of the Match
Jeremie Frimpong (Netherlands)
jeremie frimpong
At club level, Frimpong has played an array of roles on the right-hand side: right-back, right-wing-back and right midfielder. Against Spain, he was his nation's first line of defence as Koeman's chief right-winger – and La Roja's Cucurella, from start to finish, could not contain his electric pace and sense of unpredictability.
Frimpong, 24, wanted to dribble every time he got the ball and had his hand in both of his nation's goals. The aforementioned Cucurella quivered with utter fear everytime the Dutchman was in his eyeline – he was utterly fearless, direct and an absolute menace to mark because of his darting runs and swarming pressure.