The Dutch national football team achieved an expected victory at the start of the new Nations League season. In their home game in Eindhoven, Oranje beat outsiders Bosnia-Herzegovina 5:2 (2:1). The probably biggest rival in Group 3 has three points after one game, just like the German team.
Former Bayern professional Joshua Zirkzee (13th minute), Tijjani Reijnders (42nd+2), Cody Gakpo (56th), Wout Weghorst (88th) and Leipzig’s Xavi Simons (90th+2) scored the goals for the Dutch, who will host the DFB selection for the second matchday in Amsterdam next Tuesday (8.45 p.m. in the FAZ live ticker for the Nations League and on RTL).
Stuttgart’s Ermedin Demirovic (27′) scored the equaliser to make it 1-1, while former Bundesliga striker Edin Dzeko reduced the deficit to 2-3 (73′) before the Oranje’s final offensive.
Protests against England professionals
The English national team gave interim coach Lee Carsley a successful debut. In the first game after losing the European Championship final against Spain, the Three Lions beat Ireland 2-0 (2-0) at the start of the Nations League in Dublin. The former Irish international Carsley took over the coaching position in England on an interim basis after Gareth Southgate resigned.
In the 11th minute, Declan Rice scored the first goal for the English team, including captain Harry Kane from FC Bayern Munich. A quarter of an hour later, Jack Grealish increased the lead to 2-0. Grealish was not selected for the European Championship by former coach Southgate, but the offensive player is back in the starting line-up under Carsley.
Both goalscorers, like Carsley, played for Ireland when they were young. This led to protests against the footballers in Dublin’s stadium. A fan banner showed the faces of Rice and Grealish next to the words: “The snakes are back.”
During the game, the English team wore black armbands in honour of coach Sven-Göran Eriksson, who died in August. The Swede was coach of the English national team from 2001 to 2006.
