International Friendly
Netherlands 4-0 Scotland  
Friday, 22 March 2024
Johan Cruyff Arena, Amsterdam

Scorers

Netherlands 4 (Tijjani Reijnders 40’, Georginio Wijnaldum 72’, Wout Weghorst 84’, Donyell Malen)

Scotland 0

Team News

Defenders Grant Hanley and Scott McKenna were both forced to pull out of the Scotland squad due to injury.

Captain Andy Robertson and Kieran Tierney were both back in the squad following their absence in the last international break due to injury. Long term absentee Craig Gordon has worked hard to battle back from his serious injury to reclaim his place in the Scotland squad.

Lawrence Shankland was handed his second start for his country as he led the line on the night.

As It Happened

 Scotland travelled to Amsterdam for the first of two friendlies planed for this international break in preparation for this summer’s UEFA Euro 2024 campaign.

Scotland had their first big chance of the game in the 17th minute when Ryan Christie beat Jereme Frimpong to get on the end of a Billy Gilmour ball into the box, producing a diving header towards goal which was flicked onto the crossbar by a fingertip save from Mark Flekken.

The Netherlands took the lead 5 minutes before half time when Tijjani Reijnders fired a pinpoint strike into the top right corner from around 25 yards out.

The opening period of the second half saw end to end action from the two sides. Memphis Depay saw his effort from close range denied by a brilliant save from Angus Gunn who changed the direction of his momentum to stretch out and get a strong hand to the forwards effort.

Play then switched to the other end of the pitch with Scotland having two big chances in quick succession. Lawrence Shankland laid off John McGinn whose volley from inside the box was denied low by Mark Flekken. McGinn was first to the rebound and crossed it back into the danger area however Ryan Christie’s header across goal went wide of the post.

In the 61st minute, Scotland had another big chance to equalise. Scott McTominay intercepted the ball to create a loose ball which was picked up by Lawrence Shankland. Shankland progressed forward into the box to create a one on one with Mark Flekken however his effort over the Netherlands goalkeeper was denied by the crossbar.

The Netherlands doubled their lead in the 72nd minute. Cody Gakpo crossed the ball into the centre of the box which met the head of Georginio Wijnaldum who headed home from around 8 yards out into the bottom left corner.

The Netherlands scored two goals in the last 10 minutes of the game thanks to two of their substitutes. Wout Weghorst rose above everyone else to head home a corner kick before Donyell Malen scored minutes later when the ball was played into his path, taking a few touched in the box, before slotting the ball past the outcoming Angus Gunn.

Next Up

Scotland welcome Northern Ireland to Hampden Park on Tuesday 26 March. Kick off is 7:45pm. Tickets are still available to buy from the Scottish FA website.

Teams

Netherlands: Flekken, Frimpong (Dumfries 62’), Geertruida, Van Dijk, Aké, Wieffer (Veerman 62’), Wijnaldum (Koopmeiners 81’), Reijnders, Simons (Malen 77’), Depay (Weghorst 77’), Gakpo (Blind 81’)

Unused Substitutes: Verbruggen, Bizot, De Ligt, Schouten, Timber, De Roon

Scotland: Gunn, Robertson, McTominay, Tierney (Souttar 67’), McGinn, Christie (Armstrong 73’), Hendry, Gilmour (Ferguson 67’), Porteous, Shankland (Adams 67’), Patterson (Ralston 73’)

Unused Substitutes: Kelly, Clark, Gordon, Cooper, Dykes, Taylor, McLean