Oranje are eliminated from the UEFA Nations League after penalty shootout loss to Spain
Oranje was knocked out of the UEFA Nations League on Sunday after they were defeated on penalties by Spain. The quarter final match in the Mestalla stadium in Spain ended in a hugely entertaining 3-3 draw with two goals coming in extra time leading to penalties to decide the winner. Noa Lang and Donyell Malen missed for Ronald Koeman’s side with Pedri then scoring the winning penalty.
The defeat means that Oranje now know their qualifying group for the World Cup of 2026. The Netherlands will face Poland, Finland, Lithuania, and Malta in their bid to qualify for the World Cup.
Ronald Koeman gave Ian Maatsen a starting spot in what was his first game for the national side. It will have been a surprise for Maatsen who only got called up last Friday because Jurrien Timber fell ill and Jorrel Hato was sent off in the first leg of this tie, which finished 2-2 in Rotterdam.
It was a poor start for the national team. Jan Paul van Hecke was judged to have fouled Mikel Oyarzabal in the box, resulting in the home team being awarded a penalty. Oyarzabal also took and scored the penalty to put Spain 1-0 up.
Oranje’s first chance came in the 48th minute when Cody Gakpo played in Justin Kluivert but the winger was unable to score in what used to be his home stadium during his time as a Valencia player.
This did not matter much four minutes later as Oranje were awarded the second penalty of the match. Robin Le Normand was judged to have fouled Memphis Depay. And the veteran striker converted the penalty, getting his 47th goal for the national side. He is currently just three goals behind the record scorer, Robin van Persie.
Oyarzabal got his second of the game to put the home team back in front in the 67th minute. Nico Williams had shown his danger through his dribbling qualities earlier, and it resulted in the goal when he dribbled past Van Hecke, who had not been helped by his center back partner Virgil van Dijk running in the opposite direction. This led to Williams playing in Oyarzabal who converted the chance at the second attempt.
But Koeman’s side would not give in, equalizing once more in the 79th minute. Substitute Xavi Simons played a clever pass to Maatsen, who celebrated his debut in style with a fantastic hard shot into the top corner.
Oranje came close to winning the game in the closing stages of the 90 minutes. Noa Lang beat his man before his cross was knocked towards goal by Depay, but Unai Simon made a terrific save to keep the attempt out.
The match went to extra time, and Spain struck again in the first half of the extra half an hour. A fantastic pass by Amsterdam-born Dean Huijsen found Lamine Yamal. The FC Barcelona winger showed why he is considered to be one of the best wingers in the world by cutting inside and hitting a ferocious shot into the far corner.
Van Hecke saved his side a few minutes later when he blocked a shot from Williams right before the halftime break of extra time.
The drama in the match was not over yet as the French referee Clement Turpin awarded another penalty to Oranje. Simons dribbled past the Spanish goalkeeper before he was taken out. He also took the penalty himself after being fouled like Oyarzabal and Depay had done, and he was also successful, making it 3-3 and 5-5 on aggregate.
Donyell Malen had the chance to put the Netherlands through to the semi final in the last seconds of extra time but his effort was straight at Simon.
This meant that the match went to penalties. The Netherlands has a poor record in shootouts, and this continued when Lang and Malen failed to capitalize off Yamal’s miss, resulting in Pedri converting the winning penalty.
Spain will now move on to the semi-finals, where they will face France. Germany will play against Portugal in the other semi-final. Oranje will start their World Cup qualification campaign in the next international break.
