Football 39n3s

Author photo
By
Sushan Chakraborty
Author photo
Sushan Chakraborty Sports Editor

Sushan Chakraborty has been writing professionally since debuting with 90min in 2017. He has since typed out thousands of articles, learning the trade from some of the smartest minds in the business. Now at Sportscasting, he is striving to whip up his best articles yet.

Get to know Sushan Chakraborty better
Sports Editor

Published21 Mar 2025

Disclosure
We publish independently audited content meeting strict editorial standards. Ads on our site are served by Google AdSense and are not controlled or influenced by our editorial team.

UEFA Nations League holders Spain held the Netherlands to a 2-2 draw in the first leg of their quarter-finals meeting at De Kuip on Thursday night, 20 March. 

Spain will host the Netherlands at the Mestalla for the all-important return leg on Sunday, 23 March.

Netherlands 2-2 Spain: Match Summary 491b5c

Luis de la Fuente fielded his strongest XI in Rotterdam, with Nico Williams and Lamine Yamal leading the attack and Pedri running the show in midfield. The La Liga cocktail hit the spot just nine minutes in, firing La Roja into the lead. Barcelona wunderkind won the ball from Dutch left-back Jorrel Hato before squaring it to Pedri. The Barca lynchpin fed the ball to Williams, who controlled it with his right foot before turning and finishing smartly with his left.

Spain captain Alvaro Morata had an excellent opportunity to double the visitors’ lead in the 19th minute, as Marc Cucurella’s cross found him inside the box. His header, however, was below par and drifted wide of the mark.

Having been under the cosh for much of the first 30 minutes, the hosts equalized pretty much against the run of play in the 28th minute. Latching on to a botched clearance, Hato headed the ball to Justin Kluivert just outside the box. The Bournemouth man found Liverpool’s Cody Gakpo, who applied a thumping finish to level the score.

A minute into the second half, Jeremie Frimpong cut the ball back for Tijjani Reijnders. The Milan midfielder dispatched a fine first-time effort to find the bottom-left corner.

The Oranje, who lost Hato to a red card in the 81st minute, were 2-1 up heading into injury time, but they crumbled in the dying embers. Williams, the goalscorer, dispatched an angled strike towards the Dutch goal. Bart Verbruggen parried it, but it went straight to substitute Mikel Merino, who tapped it in from close range. The Arsenal man’s late, late strike extended Spain’s unbeaten streak to 22 games across competitions.

With the summary out of the way, let’s check out the Netherlands vs Spain player ratings in full.

Netherlands vs Spain Player Ratings 22663p

Netherlands Player Ratings 6uj2j

Bart Verbruggen (6.5/10): 46235o

The Brighton goalkeeper made five saves throughout the game, but his wayward injury-time parry proved costly.

Lutsharel Geertruida (6/10): ri3e

The RB Leipzig right-back had a game to forget. Did not create any chances and lost all three of his ground duels. Needs to do a lot better in the second leg.

Jan Paul van Hecke (7/10): 2o2f3p

The Brighton centre-back held his own inside the box. He won both his tackles, made 13 clearances, won five of six duels, and also delivered two accurate crosses.

Virgil van Dijk (6/10): 3m323f

Captain Virgil van Dijk was well below his brilliant best in the Nations League quarter-final. He misplaced seven es, lost three of four ground duels, and committed three fouls, picking up a yellow card.

Jorrel Hato (4.5/10): 1i2o6j

The Ajax left-back’s carelessness allowed Lamine Yamal to steal the ball leading up to Spain’s opener. He also saw a straight red following a reckless studs-up challenge on Robin Le Normand in the 81st minute. Poor.

Tijjani Reijnders (7.5/10): 24k5p

The AC Milan defensive midfielder was at the top of his game on Thursday. He scored a fine goal, played eight es into the final third, and made five recoveries.

Frenkie de Jong (7/10): 1v1e6m

The metronome, Frenkie de Jong, completed 56 es against Spain with 90% accuracy. He also delivered two accurate long balls, made five recoveries, and slipped nine es into the final third.

Jeremie Frimpong (8/10): 34a5p

One of the most exciting players to watch in football, Jeremie Frimpong tormented Marc Cucurella all night long. He created a game-high four chances, pulled off four dribbles, and won 10 duels.

Justin Kluivert (7/10): 27414m

It was not the attacking midfielder’s best performance, but he made himself useful. Provided an assist, won three duels, and made two recoveries.

Cody Gakpo (7.5/10): v5m1p

The Liverpool forward only had 40 touches in the game, but he was quite a handful when he got on the ball. Scored a fine goal, created a chance, and completed three dribbles.

Memphis Depay (6.5/10): 3o5256

The Corinthians striker created three chances, but he could not put pressure on the centre-backs.

Substitutes 4x1v18

Teun Koopmeiners (74′) (6/10): Made two blocks and intercepted the ball once.

Xavi Simons (74′) (5.5/10): Completed just two es and lost three duels.

Matthijs de Ligt (84′) & Mats Wieffer (90′): No impact.

Spain Player Ratings u673z

Unai Simon (6/10): 11p6y

The Athletic Bilbao goalkeeper made two saves and conceded twice, with both goals coming at his near post.

Pedro Porro (6/10): 6so5w

The Tottenham Hotspur right-back won five duels and made three good recoveries but he should have done a lot better going forward.

Robin Le Normand (7/10): 194p1y

Robin Le Normand completed 84 es against the Netherlands — the most in the game. Won five ground duels and cleared the ball five times.

Pau Cubarsi (6/10): 4691l

The Barcelona teenager started well but had to come off in the 41st minute after hurting his ankle.

Marc Cucurella (6.5/10): 4e4

The Chelsea left-back was a livewire going forward, creating two chances. However, he was poor at the back, getting dribbled past four times — including in the build-up of the Netherlands’ equaliser — and losing eight of 12 duels.

Pedri (7/10): 65l30

Pedri delivered a neat performance on Thursday. He completed 40 es with 93% accuracy, claimed an assist, and won a couple of duels.

Martin Zubimendi (7.5/10): 2gm51

Dictated Spain’s tempo in the middle. Completed 51 es with 86% accuracy, played 11 es into the final third, made a whopping five interceptions, and won four duels.

Fabian Ruiz (6.5/10): 2y3o3o

Fabian Ruiz was quiet by his usual standards. He created just one chance, lost both his tackles, and was dribbled past three times.

Lamine Yamal (7/10): 18a6h

It was Lamine Yamal’s hunger that created Spain’s opening goal. He also helped out at the back, making five recoveries and winning three of four ground duels.

Alvaro Morata (6/10): 435g25

The captain only had one shot on Thursday, which disappointed veered off target. He also lost three of five duels and lost possession once.

Nico Williams (8/10): 37n6v

Nico Williams was a dynamite against the Netherlands. He showed immense composure to open his scoring in the ninth minute. The 22-year-old was also integral to Spain’s late equalizer, as he forced Bart Verbruggen to make an awkward save.

Substitutes 4x1v18

Dean Huijsen (41′) (7/10): Coming on for Pau Cubarsi, 19-year-old Dean Huijsen delivered a fine performance. He completed 53 es with 90% accuracy, made two clearances, and won three of four duels.

Dani Olmo (66′) (6.5/10): Olmo had a decent outing on Thursday. He created a couple of chances, had two shots, and completed 21 of 22 es.

Ayoze Perez (66′) (6/10): Alvaro Morata’s replacement, Ayoze Perez was also ineffective in front of goal. He had two shots, both blocked. Lost three of four duels.

Mikel Oyarzabal (66′) (6/10): The Real Sociedad man held the ball well but could not mount pressure on the Dutch side.

Mikel Merino (84′) (7/10): He did not get enough time to show his full range, but he popped up with the goods when it mattered the most, scoring the injury-time equalizer.