Frank de Boer’s first game in charge of the Netherlands ended in a poor 1-0 loss to Mexico in Amsterdam.
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De Boer decided to hand debuts to Teun Koopmeiners and Owen Wijndal, while Tim Krul got a chance to impress in goal. Ryan Babel and Steven Berghuis were chosen to flank Memphis Depay, with Donny van de Beek playing just behind.
Netherlands got off to a shaky start and after an error from Hans Hateboer, Raul Jimenez should have scored, but the Wolves striker fired wide. Mexico remained the dominant force in the first-half, with Oranje reduced to half chances, which were fired wide by Memphis and Babel.
Mexico continued to dominate in the second half and should have been ahead when Jesus Corona raced through on goal, but he was denied by an excellent Krul save. On the hour mark, it was 1-0 for the visitors, with Jimenez scoring a penalty after the striker was fouled by substitute Nathan Ake.
Netherlands threw on Calvin Stengs, Luuk de Jong, and Marten de Roon, but the changes didn’t make an impact.
Just before the end, Netherlands did finally get a chance to equalise but Memphis Depay struck the bar from point-blank range after De Jong’s header was saved.
A worryingly poor performance from the Netherlands ahead of tough trips to Bosnia & Herzegovina and Italy over the next week. De Boer’s tenure is not off to the good start he would have hoped for.
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