Netherlands warm up for Euros with 4-0 friendly victory over Canada
While officially labelled a friendly fixture, the Netherlands were keen to put on a show, with the home side enjoying the majority of the first-half chances.
Jeremie Frimpong came the closest, with the Bayer Leverkusen man’s close-range effort cleared off the line by a desperate Derek Cornelius. Brian Brobbey was next to threaten for the Dutch, but the Ajax forward was denied a maiden international goal by a smothered save from Dayne St. Clair.
Canada weren’t bystanders during the opening 45 minutes though, with Cyle Larin milimetres away from opening the scoring himself, only for the striker’s shot to drop agonisingly the wrong side of the post.
The late Canadian chance would serve as a wake-up call for Ronald Koeman in the second half, with the Netherlands taking the lead five minutes after the restart.
Memphis Depay kicked the scoring off with a tap-in inside the penalty area - a goal that takes the attacker to within five of Robin van Persie’s all-time record. In truth though, Depay had all the work done for him, with Frimpong’s tantalising cross putting the ball on a plate.
Frimpong once again caught the eye with the Netherlands’ second, this time as the goalscorer. Picking the ball up from an acute angle, the in-form star curled home with his weak foot, leaving Dayne St. Clair with no chance of making a save.
However, the goalkeeper couldn’t say the same about the third goal, with his spilled stop falling straight to the feet of Wout Weghorst, who made no mistake from six yards out.
The result was wrapped up late on when substitute Virgil van Dijk marked his 67th cap with a headed goal on the back of sloppy defending from the Canadian backline. They’ll have to fix up if they wish to impress at this month’s Copa America, whereas the Dutch will take confidence from their 4-0 thrashing ahead of what they’ll hope to be a trophy-laden summer.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Jeremie Frimpong (Netherlands)