Wasteful Oranje punished as Algeria snatch late victory in World Cup warm-up

Oranje suffered defeat at the hands of Algeria in their first pre-World Cup friendly on Wednesday. A late winner from Feyenoord winger Anis Hadj Moussa led to defeat for Ronald Koeman’s side in De Kuip in Rotterdam. They have one more friendly remaining against Uzbekistan before starting their World Cup campaign.

Koeman handed out his 34th first start to a player, with Crysencio Summerville given a start. This was also followed up with goalkeeper Robin Roefs coming on at halftime, making it two debutants from the Premier League on the night.

Oranje created the first big chance of the game in the ninth minute. Tijjani Reijnders had played a high pass to Donyell Malen, whose shot on the turn hit the post.

Summerville, who was making a solid impression in his first outing, gave Malen a much bigger chance 10 minutes later when he played the pass across for a simple finish for the AS Roma forward, but Malen got the finish wrong, putting it wide of the goal.

Cody Gakpo forced Luca Zidane, son of famous footballer Zinedine, into a great save a minute later before Algeria got a foothold in the game. The chances were few and far between after this moment, with both sides going into halftime 0-0.

Malen, who had an outstanding final half of the season with Roma, did not take his form with him into this game. The striker missed another significant chance in the 53rd minute, his shot rolling wide of the goal after he had gotten past the Algerian defence.

Memphis Depay, who came on at halftime, almost added to his tally as Oranje’s all-time top scorer with a hard shot towards the top corner, but once again Zidane made a terrific save to prevent the goal.

Despite Oranje’s dominance, it was Algeria who took the lead in the 87th minute. Anis Hadj Moussa, playing in his home team’s stadium, curled a terrific effort high into the far corner.

It was Oranje’s first defeat since their loss to Germany in the UEFA Nations League in October 2024.