Nations Leaague: Netherlands start new campaign with a win
Netherlands 5 - 2 Bosnia-Herzegovina
New Manchester United striker Joshua Zirkzee scored his first goal for the Netherlands as they scored Bosnia-Herzegovina in the Nations League.
United's summer signing from Bologna who was only winning his third cap, netted a fine flicked header following Xavi Simons' deflected shot. Ermedin Demirovic levelled for the away side with a first-time finish from Denis Huseinbasic's through ball in Eindhoven.
But Zirkzee then picked out Tijjani Reijnders to put the hosts ahead again in first-half injury time. Liverpool's Cody Gakpo then scored a third. He slid the ball into an empty net from Reijnders' low drive across the six-yard box.
Former Manchester City and Inter Milan strimer Edin Dzeko did give the Bosnians some hope after he scored his 66th international goal
Wout Weghorst, who also has a connection with Manchester United, came on for Zirkzee and scored the Netherlands' fourth, before Simons eventually wrapped up an emphatic victory in injury time.
Click here for more UEFA Nations League news
The Dutch are starting to look ahead to the World Cup
Assuming they qualify, everyone associated with Dutch football will be looking to build on their experiences at Euro 2024 and go one better in the United States in 2026. The likes of Zirkzee are expected to become key players during this time, and it will be interesting to see how they cope with the pressure.
More experienced players than them have struggled. They didn't qualify for Euro 2016 and the World Cup in 2018, so they will be taking very little for granted now. Going back further, very few Dutch fans will ever forget the disaster that was their campaign for the 2002 World Cup.
