AFP, Rotterdam :
The Netherlands have qualification for the Nations League semi-finals in their sights after beating France 2-0 on Friday to hand Didier Deschamps’ side their first defeat since winning the World Cup.
Georginio Wijnaldum struck on the stroke of half-time and the dazzling Memphis Depay chipped home a cheeky stoppage-time penalty to bag a win in Rotterdam for Ronald Koeman’s revitalised side that leaves the impressive Dutch needing just a point against relegated Germany on Monday to leapfrog France and make the semi-finals.
The Dutch are a point behind leaders France, who only needed a draw themselves on Friday to qualify for the knockout stage in their last match of the group but came up way short.
“I was not expecting a perfect match from our side but that’s really what it was. We were very, very good,” said Koeman.
“I was surprised by the France line-up and the way they played, but our match was perfect. We dominated the match for 90 minutes.”
Wijnaldum’s goal came practically at the midway point of a match dominated by the hosts, who have bounced back from the doldrums after failing to qualify for the World Cup.
They dominated the lacklustre world champions from the off and were only denied a even bigger win by a magnificent performance from France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.
“This win shows the spirit of the team, the quality of the players we have,” said Depay.
“It shows that we have a bright future, we have to continue like this. This is just the start.”
The closest Deschamps’ men came to scoring was a weak 10th-minute header from Antoine Griezmann, who was otherwise anonymous alongside the equally invisible Kylian Mbappe.
“There was one team out there with a lot of desire and we didn’t have enough,” said Deschamps.
