Netherlands 3-2 Wales: Three Things We Learned

Another night of Nations League action has come and gone and arguably the most electric game of the evening took place in Rotterdam. Wales travelled to the Netherlands to take on the 2014 World Cup finalists in a rematch of a clash that went down just a matter of days ago.

It was a fascinating back and forth affair between two incredibly exciting sides and in the end, it was the Dutch who came away with a dramatic 3-2 win.

Depay = the man

Memphis Depay now has 42 international goals to his name after scoring the late winner here, putting him just eight behind the all-time leader Robin van Persie. That’s the kind of legacy he’ll want to leave behind and with Louis van Gaal back at the helm, he seems to be getting the best out of himself – which is great considering he’s just 28 and could well be the talisman heading into the World Cup this winter.

Dragons dig deep

While they may have gone 2-0 down early doors, and eventually ended up on the losing end, there’s nothing to be ashamed of from Wales’ point of view. Rob Page was absolutely integral as his squad found a way to come back from the brink of defeat and push the Netherlands right until the final whistle, with Gareth Bale’s penalty reminding the world that they have a real talisman in their ranks.

World Cup dark horses?

Wales should be able to have some success in Qatar given their group, to the point where we genuinely believe they should back themselves to finish in the top two alongside England and qualify for the knockouts. Netherlands, meanwhile, have the depth, quality and momentum behind them that should ensure they quickly become one of the dark horses heading into a wide open World Cup at the end of the year.