Netherlands Edge Norway 2-1 in World Cup Warm-Up
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| Netherlands comeback beats Norway in Amsterdam |
Netherlands beat Norway 2-1 in World Cup warm-up friendly, with goals from Van Dijk and Reijnders.
Oranje wins 2-1 in Amsterdam friendly with Van Dijk and Reijnders on target...
Kees Smit made a surprise debut for the Netherlands as they beat Norway 2-1 in their World Cup warm-up opener in Amsterdam.
Netherlands manager Ronald Koeman sprung a surprise by giving 20-year-old AZ talent Kees Smit his maiden start for Oranje just days after being called up for the first time. Juventus' Teun Koopmeiners started as the Netherlands' right winger, while in-form Roma striker Donyell Malen started up top alongside Cody Gakpo.
Norway was missing Erling Haaland, who got a week's rest from manager Stale Solbakken due to a packed schedule. Jorgen Strand Larsen and Alexander Sorloth led the attack, supported by Andreas Schjelderup and Oscar Bobb on the wings.
The hosts put Norway under pressure early and created the game's first chances after ten minutes, when Cody Gakpo had two shots blocked.
Andreas Schjelderup was given acres of space after twisting and turning his way past Denzel Dumfries, giving the Benfica winger the chance to curl the ball into Bart Verbruggen's far corner to hand Norway a surprising lead after 24 minutes.
Koeman's side pushed hard after going behind, flooding the Norwegian box with chances at the Johan Cruyff ArenA. Cody Gakpo and Donyell Malen had shots saved by Ørjan Nyland, while Denzel Dumfries' effort was wayward, clattering into Wolves' David Møller Wolfe instead of the target.
Netherlands captain Virgil van Dijk took his team by the hand and got Oranje back alongside Norway with a towering header in the 35th minute.
The Dutch came out of the gates fighting after the break as Donyell Malen took Nyland's goal under fire within three minutes of the game, but rolled the ball a hair wide of the post.
Gakpo denied Tijjani Reijnders a chance before Malen's shot, but the Roma striker wouldn't be denied a second time as Denzel Dumfries found a wide-open Reijnders in the box, after which the no. 14 laced it past Nyland for a quick second-half turnaround.
As the hour mark approached, Norway unexpectedly dominated possession for a five-minute spell, putting the Dutch into a rondo. The spell ended goalless, with Norway failing to register a shot on target despite using five of their available eight substitutions.
Brian Brobbey nearly capitalized on his return after a year-long absence when he connected with a Cody Gakpo cross, but his effort narrowly missed Nyland's goal as the Netherlands and Norway approached the final 15 minutes of their friendly in Amsterdam.
Norway's Jorgen Strand Larsen had a crafty effort that marked their first attempt in nearly 40 minutes, but it wasn't enough as the Netherlands secured a 2-1 win in their March double header opener. The Dutch, led by Ronald Koeman, will next face Ecuador in a friendly match in Eindhoven on Tuesday, March 31st.
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