Donny van de Beek scored as Netherlands battled back in the second half to earn a 1-1 draw against Spain in Amsterdam.
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Frank de Boer decided to line-up in a 4-3-3 again for the visit of Spain with Owen Wijndal, Marco Bizot, Joel Veltman, Donny van de Beek and Steven Berghuis all starting the clash.
Spain dominated the early stages and Netherlands were dealt a blow in the opening minutes with Nathan Ake forced off with a hamstring issue.
In the 19th minute, Spain took the lead with Sergio Canales evading Joel Veltman far too easily before firing low past Bizot.
Spain then had chances to double the lead but Alvaro Morata was wasteful up front. At the other end, Luuk de Jong wasted the only clear opportunity for Netherlands.
At the break, De Boer brought on Davy Klaassen, Denzel Dumfries, Stefan de Vrij and Calvin Stengs. The changes breathed some life into Oranje and Van de Beek equalised in the 47th minute. Wijndal’s cross found an unmarked Van de Beek to smash the ball into the net.
Spain then had a strong spell again and Morata missed a good chance to put Spain back in front before Bizot denied Hector Bellerin.
However, in the 68th minute, Netherlands should have taken the lead when Memphis had the ball unchallenged in the box but his low strike was brilliantly saved by Unai Simon.
In the 88th minute, Netherlands got another chance to win the game when Stengs played Dumfries through. The right-back passed to Luuk de Jong, but the striker took a touch and then turned away from goal. The ball eventually made it’s way to Ryan Babel, whose strike deflected over.
On the stroke of full-time, Babel fired another strike over the bar and Netherlands had to settle for a draw.
It’s four games now without a win for Frank de Boer. He is the first Netherlands coach ever to go four games without a win. Next up is Bosnia & Herzegovina next Sunday.
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