Turkey 4-2 Netherlands: Dutch player ratings as Burak Yilmaz hat-trick stuns Oranje on opening day | 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers
The Netherlands were served a baptism of fire on their quest for a World Cup return after getting thrashed 4-2 by rampant Turkey at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium in their first qualifying game.
Burak Yilmaz netted a hat-trick while Hakan Calhanoglu was also on target as the Crescent Stars got their campaign off to a sensational start.
Frank de Boer's Netherlands side were denied a penalty early on while Matthijs de Ligt saw an effort cleared off the line in the first-half.
Davy Klaassen and Luuk de Jong scored in quick succession after the break to reduce the deficit to a single goal and give the Netherlands some hope.
However, a fourth goal late on by Yilmaz, his third of the evening, consolidated Turkey's victory, with Memphis Depay then missing a penalty in stoppage-time to add insult to injury for the Netherlands.
Here are the player ratings for the Netherlands
Tim Krul - 6/10
A surprise last-minute change of guard saw Krul line up between the sticks and the Norwich City custodian endured a tough outing, conceding four goals.
Kenny Tete - 5/10
The Fulham right-back was anonymous, contributing precious little going forward and also showing no strength in the defense.
Matthijs de Ligt - 6/10
What an eventful game for the Juventus star - saw the opening goal deflect off his elbow, then had an effort cleared off the line, produced a fantastic block in the second-half to deny Karaman and then won the penalty in stoppage time.
Daley Blind - 6/10
Yilmaz twisted the Ajax defender inside out with his movements and high pressing. Blind, though, showed glimpses of his attacking side too, making two good crosses for Depay.
Owen Wijndal - 6/10
The 21-year old was given his fourth start today and it's clear he still has a long way to go. He struggled to deal with Turkey's pace many times and rarely ever ventured forward to help out with the Netherlands attack too.
Martin de Roon - 6/10
The Atalanta star's deliveries weren't accurate and looked to be in no man's land for most of the evening.
Frenkie de Jong - 6/10
Given his fine run of form lately, more was expected from de Jong, but the Netherlands midfielder struggled to stamp his authority in the game and was run over by Turkey's marauding full-backs.
Steven Berghuis - 7/10
The winger was a nice outlet for the visitors, always probing Turkey's defense with his crosses and laying excellent deliveries from set-pieces, one of which almost resulted in a goal.
Georginio Wijnaldum - 6/10
The Netherlands skipper was at the end of some roughhousing by the Turks but also conceded some fouls himself whilst also going into the books for catching Celik in the face. From a pure attacking point of view, he was disappointing.
Donyell Malen - 5/10
He looked promising early on but it all went down quickly for him, as Malen also conceded a penalty after bringing down Yokuslu.
Memphis Depay - 5/10
One word - disappointing. The former Manchester United striker struggled to impose himself on the match and rubbed further salt on his team's wounds by missing a penalty deep into the match.
Substitutes
Davy Klaassen - 7/10
It took him just four minutes after coming on to find the net, producing a brilliant skip in the build-up to get past Soyuncu.
Luuk de Jong - 6/10
Another two minutes later, de Jong got on target too, latching onto a loose ball from close range for his first Netherlands goal in 11 games.
Patrick van Aanholt - 6/10
He made one effort in the final minute of normal time but it was tame and Cakir easily saved it.
Ryan Gravenberch - 6/10
He replaced Blind in the 82nd minute and held his ground.
Denzel Dumfries - 6/10
He was eager to get involved and made one good cross which was saved comfortably by Cakir.