Netherlands have begun 2020 and the Nations League with a 1-0 victory over Poland. Steven Bergwijn netted the only goal.

Dwight Lodeweges was without several defenders for the first Nations League clash so Hans Hateboer came in at right-back, Nathan Ake on the left, and Joel Veltman in the centre. Elsewhere it was the usual eleven with Quincy Promes and Steven Bergwijn either side of Memphis Depay.

Poland turned up to hit Netherlands on the counter, and in the first half, Oranje struggled to find a way through their defence. Promes was played in on the left but struck wide in the 20th minute.

Krzysztof Piątek came closest for Poland on the counter but his shot was straight at Jasper Cillessen. The best chance in the first-half came with the last kick when Memphis played in Frenkie de Jong, but his strike hit the post.

Netherlands continued to dominate possession in the second half, and eventually, on the hour mark, the lead came. De Jong played a lovely ball to Hateboer, whose cross was tapped in from close range by Bergwijn. That was Bergwijn’s first international goal.

That proved to be the only goal of the game as Netherlands saw out the rest of the match. Donny van de Beek came on with 15 minutes left but the new Manchester United midfielder didn’t make much of an impact.

So the Netherlands begin the Nations League with a 1-0 victory over Poland and they will now face Italy in the second group game on Monday. Italy drew 1-1 with Bosnia in the other game, so Netherlands go top of the group.




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