Oranje picked up their biggest win since 2011 on Tuesday night when they beat Malta 8-0 in a World Cup qualifier at the Euroborg stadium in Groningen. The story of the night was two goals from Memphis Depay, which ensured that he equaled Robin van Persie as the all-time top scorer for the national team. Virgil Van Dijk, Xavi Simons, Donyell Malen, Noa Lang, and Micky van de Ven got the other goals.
Ronald Koeman made four changes to the team that beat Finland 0-2 on Saturday. Stefan de Vrij, Micky van de Ven, Justin Kluivert, and Xavi Simons were brought into the side. They replaced Jan Paul van Hecke, Nathan Ake, Tijjani Reijnders, and Jeremie Frimpong.
Oranje’s first chance came in the fourth minute. Simons found space on the wing and found Kluivert in the box, but the Bournemouth midfielder’s shot went over the goal. He is still waiting for his first goal for Oranje.
Kluivert was involved again a minute later when he was fouled by Juan Corbalan in the box for a penalty. The penalty was taken by Memphis Depay, who converted it to come within one goal of Robin van Persie’s record as the all-time top scorer for the Netherlands.
Depay had equaled the record around 10 minutes later. Simons let a pass from Denzel Dumfries run, and Depay made no mistake, smashing it hard and high into the Malta goal, equaling Van Persie’s record of 50 goals.
It was all too easy for Koeman’s side as the captain, Virgil Van Dijk, made it 3-0 in the 20th minute. The center-back intercepted a pass before playing a one-two with Frenkie de Jong and hitting a low, hard shot into the far corner. It was a nice moment for Van Dijk, who scored at the ground where his footballing career started.
Oranje had more chances to make it 4-0 before halftime. Dumfries and De Vrij failed to convert the opportunities. De Vrij also failed to score with Oranje’s first chance of the second half after Van Dijk had headed a corner to his center-back partner.
Depay added an assist to his night in the 61st minute. The forward played a through ball to Simons, who did extremely well to slide the ball into the far corner, making it 4-0.
Donyell Malen made a huge difference after coming on, notching two goals and an assist within 20 minutes. Malen made an instant impact in the 74th minute when he scored with his first touch of the ball. A through ball found Van de Ven, whose cross was knocked into the goal first time by Malen.
The Aston Villa forward then set up the 6-0 four minutes later, playing a deft pass to Noa Lang, who only had to tap it home. And Malen topped off his terrific substitute performance in the 80th minute when he spun his defender inside out before hitting it into the near post.
Van de Ven also followed his assist with a goal in the 92nd minute. The Left back hit a shot into the far corner after two efforts had been blocked by the Maltese defense.
It was Oranje’s biggest win since 2011 when they defeated San Marino 11-0. That victory was the biggest ever victory for the national side. It could be a vital win in qualifying group G as Poland, widely considered Oranje’s biggest rivals for the top spot, was getting beaten 2-1 by Finland before the match was suspended due to a medical emergency.
Oranje is currently top of the group with two wins out of two games.