Two first-half goals from Stefan De Vrij and Davy Klaassen was enough for the Netherlands to secure a 2-0 victory over one-time world champion Spain.
Holland scored the only goals of the match in the 13th and 16th minute through De Vrij and Klaassen before keeper Kenneth Vermeer performed some great saves against Gerard Pique and then Pedro to keep their lead. The Spanish improved after the break but Bruno Martins Indi was close to getting a third for the hosts and Marcus Depay causing De Gea problems. Vitolo had the Spaniards best opportunity dragging it just wide, substitute Georgino Wijnaldum had the last real opportunity but enough had been done to gain the victory.
Holland would have wanted to get back to winning ways after a late strike from Klaas-Jan Huntelaar saved them from defeat on Saturday in their 1-1 draw with Turkey in Euro 2016 qualifying. Spain went into this game on the back of a victory in their qualifying match with Alvaro Morata’s single goal on his debut enough to defeat Ukraine on Friday. Spain will have been eager for a victory after they suffered an embarrassing 5-1 defeat to the Dutch in their opening group game at the World Cup last summer.
The home side started brightly with Memphis Depay coming close to giving the Dutch the lead in the seventh minute a good one-two Klaas-Jan Huntelaar saw the PSV winger regain possession and proceeded to curl a shot towards goal but David De Gea caught well.
Only six minutes later they took the lead, Wesley Sneijder whipped in corner which was subsequently cleared but the ball ended up back with the midfielder and his excellent ball found the head of De Vrij which bounced into the bottom corner. Netherlands were 2-0 up three minutes later, it was great play from Depay on the outside who then played it off to Jetro Willems he then passed it to Klaassen. Klaassen’s first effort was saved by De Gea but the bounce fell back to the midfielder who made no mistake by smashing it into the net.
Spain then began to get a foothold into the game but were being prevented by an excellent performance from keeper Vermeer. He came flying out to prevent Gerard Pique’s shot in the 28th minute and then looked to have been beaten by Pedro two minutes later but stuck out a left hand to prevent the goal. Spain continued to push their hosts into the dying embers of the half with Juanmi curling a shot just wide of the bottom corner and then he was given a gift by Sneijder in the 42nd minute but a heavy touch was enough for Vermeer to claim.
Spain came out of the traps in the second period when Juan Bernat put a great ball across the face of goal, Cesc Fabregas got the slightest of touches but wasn’t enough for Juanmi to get on the end of it. Netherlands resumed control from there and came close to a third, Sneijder whipped in another great ball into the box which found Martins Indi running in but his header into the ground and over the crossbar.
Depay caused De Gea more problems in 55th minute when he cut inside to hit a blistering shot, it seemed to be straight at the Manchester United keeper but he was forced to palm the effort away. Vermeer produced another good save when he reacted quickly to a deflection from a Spanish free-kick on the edge of the area to clear it away.
Vitolo had a big opportunity to get his side back in the game in the 67th minute, Alvaro Morata teed it up for him but he dragged the shot wide. Substitute David Silva had the ball in the net three after that chance but the flag was up on the far side for offside.
Spain continued to press to find a way to get back into the game going into the final ten minutes with Fabregas making it to the goal-line but Vermeer is there again to kick it clear. The final opportunity of any merit fell to the Dutch side with nine minutes to play, sub Wijnaldum received the through ball from Depay but he fluffed his lines smashing it into the side netting.
It was very positive result from Guus Hiddink’s side who were under a bit of pressure after the draw with Turkey at the weekend. It proved that game in Brazil wasn’t a fluke and will give them confidence going into the friendly against the USA in June. It will be disappointing for Del Bosque as his side did pick up in the second half but those two early goal killed off his side. It was evident that the absence of the likes of the injured Diego Costa were been missed as there wasn’t really any urgency in the area but hopefully that will return in time for the next qualifiers in June.