Netherlands move top after hard-fought victory over Serbia in Eindhoven
Joshua Zirkzee scored the decisive goal as the Netherlands overcame a stubborn Serbia side 2-1 in Eindhoven, extending Xavi Hernandez’s unbeaten start as head coach to four matches.
The forward’s first international goal in two years secured Xavi’s first home victory and moved the Dutch to the top of UEFA Nations League Group A2. Serbia remained bottom without a point.
Match highlight
Seeking to complete a league double over their opponents, the Netherlands began confidently. Joey Veerman tested Vanja Milinkovic-Savic inside the opening 15 minutes, forcing the Napoli goalkeeper into an excellent save.
Milinkovic-Savic could do little to prevent the breakthrough shortly after the half-hour mark, however.
Making his first appearance of the international window, Teun Koopmeiners drove a low free-kick into the bottom corner to give the hosts the lead on an evening when Virgil van Dijk was celebrating his 100th cap.
Koopmeiners’ delight was short-lived as Serbia exposed his vulnerability in an unfamiliar centre-back role.
Mihajlo Cvetkovic climbed above the Juventus player to meet Aleksa Terzic’s lofted delivery and direct a precise header beyond Bart Verbruggen, registering his first senior international goal.
The Anderlecht striker nearly added another within a minute of the restart. Having escaped Koopmeiners’ challenge, he was unable to keep his finish on target.
Serbia continued to apply pressure, and Verbruggen had to intervene to keep out dangerous long-range efforts from Lazar Samardzic and Cvetkovic.
After surviving that difficult spell, the Netherlands regained the advantage with a well-worked move inside the final 20 minutes.
Denzel Dumfries sent a low delivery towards the far post, where Tijjani Reijnders supplied Zirkzee for a straightforward finish.
The goal restored the hosts’ lead but did not end Serbia’s resistance. Verbruggen was required again to deny Nemanja Gudelj as the visitors pursued an equaliser.
A late injury to Micky van de Ven left the Netherlands to negotiate the closing stages with only 10 players, adding further tension to an already demanding contest.
They nevertheless protected their narrow advantage to complete the international window with two wins and two draws under Xavi.
For Serbia, another competitive performance brought no reward, while the Netherlands emerged with three valuable points and control of the group heading into the remaining fixtures.
