Ronald Koeman admitted he was left “angry” after the Netherlands nearly threw away a two-goal lead in their nervy 3-2 World Cup qualifying win over Lithuania, with Memphis Depay’s brace sparing the Oranje from embarrassment.
The Netherlands avoided a humiliating slip-up in Vilnius but did little to ease concerns over their consistency under Ronald Koeman. The Dutch edged out Lithuania 3-2 in World Cup qualifying on Sunday, thanks to Memphis Depay’s decisive second-half strike, but their coach was far from satisfied with the performance.
Netherlands surrender control
Memphis Depay fired the Oranje ahead in the 17th minute before Quinten Timber doubled the lead inside half an hour. At that point, the Netherlands looked set for a comfortable evening against a side ranked 143rd in the world. Instead, complacency crept in, and Lithuania hit back with two quick goals before half-time to level the match.
Depay stepped up again after the restart, restoring the lead with his second of the game in the 63rd minute. That goal eventually proved to be the winner, but Koeman was forced into defensive changes late on, bringing on Matthijs de Ligt for Donyell Malen to preserve the narrow advantage.
Koeman: “It could have been disastrous”
Despite the three points, Koeman was visibly irritated by his team’s drop-off in intensity. Speaking to NOS, he said:
I’m a little angry. We played with fire today. Fortunately, it didn’t cost us any points, but it could have been disastrous. The urgency diminished. Players started doing things ten to 15 percent less. We shouldn’t be getting into so much trouble here, even at the end of the game. That’s why I had to add a fifth defender — it’s not what you want to do, but I do want to win.
Koeman praised Depay for bailing the team out:
We can be happy he was there. He scored two very good goals. He proves beyond doubt that he is still the best striker.
Group standings and next steps
The victory keeps the Netherlands top of Group G, level on points with Poland but with a game in hand. While the result strengthens their path toward World Cup qualification, the manner of the performance raised fresh concerns about game management and defensive resilience.
Koeman and his players now turn their focus to the next round of qualifiers, where the expectation will be a sharper, more dominant display if they are to avoid further scares.
