The Dutch team is almost certain of the 2026 World Cup after a convincing 4-0 win over poor Finland

After several inconsistent matches, the Dutch national team convincingly defeated poor Finland on Sunday evening. The score was 4-0 in the Johan Cruijff Arena, a score that had largely been reached before halftime. The victory puts the Dutch team on the threshold of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada.

The match was played early in the evening, kick-off at 6 p.m. instead of the usual starting time of 8:45 p.m., which resulted in a striking number of young spectators visiting the stands. The supreme Dutch team gave them a great evening, with fast, dynamic combination play and good goals.

Compared to Thursday’s away game against Malta (4-0 win), Justin Kluivert surprisingly started as the most attacking midfielder instead of Tijjani Reijnders. And Donyell Malen was preferred to Jeremie Frimpong at right winger. With their actions and threat, Kluivert and Malen became the stars of the evening.

Although it did not take much against Finland, 71st in the FIFA world rankings. As soon as the Dutch accelerated briefly, the Finns had a lot of trouble keeping up. This made it an ideal evening for the Dutch national team to work on self-confidence and automatisms, something that national coach Ronald Koeman is eagerly looking for.

Dynamics on the left

What is striking against the Finns is the dynamics on the left, with left winger Cody Gakpo and Kluivert who drops slightly to the left zone as ‘ten’. The first goal is set up on that flank in the eighth minute, which starts with fierce pressing from Gakpo. Malen is then served with fast combination play – via Gakpo, Frenkie de Jong, Kluivert and Memphis Depay. He hits hard from distance and is lucky that goalkeeper Jesse Joronen only makes a half-hearted save with his left hand: 1-0.

Zoom in

Malen, a fast attacker who never became a full-fledged starter for the Dutch team, shows that he can also score when he starts. Until Sunday, he only did this once in eighteen games as a starting player, where he is much more effective as a substitute: ten goals in 28 appearances.

Special evening

A player who always starts in the starting line-up also seemed to be looking for a goal. It was a special evening for captain Virgil van Dijk, exactly ten years and two days after his debut in the Dutch national team. Perhaps that is why his buddy Depay is so relieved when he lands a free kick exactly at the far post, where Van Dijk heads the ball in beautifully and neatly: 2-0.

The Netherlands dominates, creates many opportunities and hardly gives anything away. Kluivert shoots from a distance, on the hand of the unfortunate Miro Tenho: penalty. Depay strikes, flawlessly in the right corner: 3-0 after 38 minutes. A carefree evening.

In the second half, the pace of the Dutch team drops slightly, giving them fewer opportunities. The game slowly fades away, but suddenly there is Gakpo’s brilliant 4-0, ten minutes before the end: a hard right into the top left corner, just past the inside of the post.

In a month, the Dutch national team will play the last two qualifying matches in group G, away against Poland and at home against Lithuania. If the Dutch team wins at least one of those matches, it is certain of qualifying for the World Cup, partly due to the good goal difference.

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