Netherlands 2-0 Latvia: 5 talking points as Oranje pick up their first points in the World Cup Qualifiers
The Netherlands recorded a 2-0 win over Latvia in their FIFA World Cup qualifying fixture thanks to goals from Steven Berghuis and Luuk De Jong in either half.
There was nothing much to take away from Latvia's performance from this encounter as the hosts completely dominated the game, having managed to keep 77% of possession.
Memphis Depay looked dangerous throughout the game but was substituted off the pitch with just one minute of regular time to go and could not register himself on the scoresheet.
Davy Klaassen hit the bar in the 27th minute with a wonderful headed effort. He provided the assist for Berghuis' brilliant opener in the 32nd minute. De Jong, too, could only rattle the bar in the 40th minute with his headed effort. He eventually got his goal in the 69th minute, which was also a header.
The visitors offered little to no resistance to the Dutchmen and the closest they came to threatening Tim Krul was in the 85th minute when Andres Ciganik's effort hit the post.
It was an easy day in the office for Frank de Boer's men but they need to work on their finishing skills if they are to deliver favorable results in the World Cup qualifiers.
On that note, let us take a look at the top 5 talking points from the game.
#5 Steven Berghuis scores his first international goal for the Netherlands
The way the Netherlands kicked off proceedings in the game tonight, it was all but certain that they were going to find the back of the net. The only question was when.
The opening goal came right after the half-hour mark, with Steven Berghuis scoring a left-footed effort from the edge of the box. The first-touch finish was the Feyenoord winger's first international goal for the Netherlands.
This comes as a surprise given his incredible goal-scoring form for his club over the last few seasons and the fact that he has been part of the international setup since 2016.
He has hit double-digit figures with Feyenoord in the Eredivisie over the last four seasons, so, surprisingly, the 29-year-old had to play 23 games to score his first goal for the national side.
#4 The difference in the squad quality made the game seem like shooting practice for the Netherlands
The Netherlands were relentless tonight. After a 4-2 thrashing at the hands of Turkey in the opening fixture of the campaign, they returned with a vengeance.
Their performance in front of their home fans at the Amsterdam ArenA was the embodiment of a one-sided display, in which the ball rarely went inside the Dutch half of the pitch and the visitors recorded zero shots on target.
Every time a Dutch player had a ball at his feet it only took the hosts seconds to get the ball near the Latvian penalty box. Like a shooting practice session, the players saw little to no resistance in unleashing a shot on goal.
While the hosts did not have much to show for their dominance from their game, from the 11 shots on target they scored two great goals, which were enough to secure the three points from the game.
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