Orange thanks to substitute Memphis again past Wales in spectacular final phase | NOW

The Dutch national team closed the international match on Tuesday with a spectacular 3-2 victory over Wales in the Nations League. The team of national coach Louis van Gaal gave up a 2-0 lead in De Kuip, partly due to a questionable penalty kick, but still won through a goal from Memphis Depay in injury time.

Less than a week ago, the Orange squad already won 2-1 in Cardiff through a goal by Wout Weghorst in extra time. Tuesday evening in Rotterdam it was already 2-1 for the Orange after 26 minutes.

Lang opened the score in the seventeenth minute on a pass from Vincent Janssen. The striker returned to Orange after five years, which kicked off with a B-team. In the 23rd minute Cody Gakpo doubled the score, but three minutes later Wales Brennan Johnson narrowed the margin to 2-1 after a mistake by Jordan Teze.

It seemed to stay 2-1, until the ball went on the penalty spot in extra time. To De Kuip’s surprise, Romanian referee Horatiu Fesnic saw a violation by Tyrell Malacia, after which substitute Gareth Bale was allowed to use a penalty kick (2-2). The evening seemed to end in a minor way for the Orange, but in the third minute of extra time, Memphis shot the Van Gaal team to three points.

With the win, the Orange still convincingly leads in group 4 of Division A. The other group match was won by Belgium 0-1 against Poland. Michy Batshuayi was match winner in Warsaw.

The Orange squad continues the Nations League in September with the last two group matches. Then Poland (in Warsaw) and Belgium (in Amsterdam) are the opponents. Those are also the last two games in the Netherlands before the start of the World Cup on November 21.

Janssen provides assist with goal Lang

Van Gaal gave many bench seats the chance on Tuesday evening. Compared to the 2-2 draw against Poland on Saturday, only Frenkie de Jong against Wales kept his base place, while Janssen returned to Orange after five years. Players such as Lang, Gakpo, Teze, Malacia, Hans Hateboer, Teun Koopmeiners and Bruno Martins Indi were also allowed to start. Matthijs de Ligt, 22, wore the captain’s armband for the first time. At Wales, star player Bale was given rest.

Even without almost all permanent staff, Orange was stronger than Wales from the start and that led to the 1-0 after seventeen minutes. It was Lang who scored his first international goal. The 22-year-old attacker hit the target after a few nice moves, with Janssen as declarant.

Six minutes later it was Gakpo, the other player of the attacking trio, who scored. The PSV player saw his first attempt blocked by a defender from Wales, but in the rebound it was still hit (2-0). So it was an excellent first half for the Orange, until Teze just handed the ball in the 26th minute to a player from Wales, who immediately took advantage. Johnson signed for the 1-2.

After the goal against the Orange, the attacking spirit disappeared. It was only at the end of the first half that there was another opportunity for Van Gaal’s team. The industrious Janssen intercepted the ball and shot wide.

Teze and Hateboer switched halfway through

Halfway through, Van Gaal switched both Teze and Hateboer, who were not convinced. With Denzel Dumfries and Stefan de Vrij as substitutes, the Orange was also better after the break, but not much was created. After an hour, Lang tried with a shot, which was saved with difficulty by goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey.

A minute later, De Kuip bounced up when Janssen asked for the ball. Koopmeiners’ pass was tailor-made, but the 28-year-old striker did not take the ball well. Meanwhile, Orange had to keep an eye out. Martins Indi made a mistake, resulting in a chance for Ethan Ampadu. On the other hand, Janssen tried in vain with a placed shot. It turned out to have been the last action of the CF Monterrey striker. Memphis came in.

For example, the Orange seemed to make it to the end 2-1, but a lot of things happened in extra time. A slight foul by Malacia led to a penalty and Bale made no mistake face to face with Jasper Cillessen (2-2). The Orange recovered, as a minute later it was 3-2. With an extreme effort, Memphis scored the winning goal, as a result of which the Netherlands took three points in a spectacular way.