Belgium and the Netherlands both played young teams on Wednesday to get a look at some new players before World Cup qualifying starts, and they put on a show. Belgium jumped out to an early lead, but Holland went on to take control of the game. They led well into the second half before Dries Mertens decided to completely take over the game, and he led Belgium to a 4-2 victory.
Belgium Vs. Netherlands 2012: Final Score, Dries Mertens Dominates In 4-2 Win
The opening goal came by way of Christian Benteke in the 20th minute. Even though the opportunity itself was a bit lucky, but there was nothing lucky about the finish. The ball fell to Benteke on a big deflection, but he took a brilliant first touch, than an even better second touch to beat his defender before powering a great finish into the net from 10 yards.
Early in the second half, Holland turned the game around, thanks to Arjen Robben. He played mostly on the right under Bert van Marwijk, but Louis van Gaal had him on the left side of midfield in the second half. He used his pace and left foot to create both goals, just one minute apart. Both were tap-ins off low crosses, with Luciano Narsingh netting in the 54th minute and Klass-Jan Huntelaar netting one minute later.
Dries Mertens entered the game in the 67th minute, and even though no one knew it at the time, this effectively ended the game. He made a spectacular zig-zagging run through the Dutch defense in the 76th minute before equalizing with a great strike. In the 78th minute, he beat the entire defense again before putting in a cross that deflected to Romelu Lukaku, who volleyed past Maarten Stekelenberg. Another two minutes later, he did it again, setting up Jan Verthongen for Belgium's fourth goal.
International friendlies right before the start of the European club season should probably not be a thing, but at least Holland and Belgium made this one fun.
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