Joshua Zirkzee and Tijjani Reijnders both claimed a goal and an assist each, as the Netherlands began their UEFA Nations League (UNL) campaign with an emphatic 5-2 win over Bosnia & Herzegovina.
Ronald Koeman’s side reached the semi-finals in the last UNL edition, and they wasted no time in launching their quest to improve on that.
Impressively, Netherlands took a mere 13 minutes to break the deadlock, as Joshua Zirkzee diverted a superb backward looping header in off the post – albeit somewhat fortuitously after an initial strike from Xavi Simons took a huge deflection into his path.
With the Manchester United forward having marked his first senior start for the Netherlands with a goal, it looked like the hosts would cruise home from there.
However, Bosnia stunned the Philips Stadion with an unlikely equaliser just 14 minutes later. Ermedin Demirovic expertly took Denis Huseinbasic’s pass into his stride and clinically slotted home past Bart Verbruggen.
Not deterred, the hosts were inches away from netting what would have been a sublime second goal, as Zirkzee and Tijjani Reijnders combined in a beautiful one-two, but the latter’s strike cannoned off the crossbar.
But that same duo finally managed to engineer a second Dutch goal in first-half stoppage time, as Zirkzee threaded a wonderful ball to the AC Milan midfielder, who dispatched a superb left-footed strike past Nikola Vasilj.
Reijnders was clearly having an enjoyable Saturday night in Eindhoven and displayed a beaming smile after firing wide with another effort just after the re-start.
Virgil van Dijk was next to come close with a header which sailed inches over the bar, ahead of a seemingly inevitable third Dutch goal. But Reijnders then added an assist to his name with a low, driven cross from the right-hand side, which Cody Gakpo slid home from point-blank range.
Koeman’s side were seeing out the second half with relative comfort until veteran marksman Edin Dzeko halved the deficit when he brilliantly brought down Esmir Bajraktarevic’s searching cross and prodded the ball past Verbruggen.
But there would be no grandstand finish as Netherlands added a fourth goal in the 88th minute, as Vasilj parried Quinten Timber’s initial strike straight towards Wout Weghorst, who applied a poacher’s finish.
But Koeman’s men were not done there, and in stoppage time, Simons took Donyell Malen’s pass into his stride, lashing home a fifth goal to cap off a fine night’s work.
Netherlands are back in action against Germany at the Johan Cruijff Arena on Tuesday, while the Dragons will be aiming to arrest an alarming run of seven consecutive defeats in all competitions against Hungary in Budapest on the same day.
