UEFA Nations League: Dutch advance with big win before Olympiastadion test, Reis makes Slovakia debut
| Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images |
The Netherlands are through to the last eight in the UEFA Nations League after their 7-0 victory over Greece in Amsterdam. The two teams started the day on equal points, but Xavi’s side produced a ruthless performance from start to finish.
Borussia Dortmund's Joey Veerman provided the assist for the first of Tijani Reijnders’ three goals in the space of twenty first-half minutes. Fellow Saudi-based player Crysencio Summerville started the rout in the sixth minute, while ex-Borussia Dortmund attacker ended the scoring at the hour mark with the seventh goal of the night.
On his return to the stadium of his former club, Arsenal’s Jurrien Timber also scored his first two goals for the Netherlands. Since the head-to-head record is the first tiebreaker, the hosts earned their spot in the knockout stage before their game against Germany at Olympiastadion on Monday night.
Greece will simultaneously host Serbia in the other game from the group. If Germany and Greece win their respective games on the final matchday, all three teams will be tied on 11 points. If Germany manage to beat fierce rivals Dutch, they will advance to the knockout stage without having to wait for the other result. Serbia are yet to earn a point after their first five matches in League A of the competition.
Meanwhile, Ludovit Reis, who played a total of 26 games for Netherlands youth national teams, made his Slovakia debut on Friday. The Werder Bremen midfielder played 85 minutes in the 2-2 draw with Faroe Islands for the League C3 leaders.
Gregor Kobel (Dortmund), Fabian Rieder (Augsburg) and Michel Aebischer (Union Berlin) helped Switzerland to a goalless draw in Slovenia, which was enough to secure their promotion to League A with a game to spare.
