AMSTERDAM (Reuters) -Three-times World Cup runners-up the Netherlands secured their berth at the 2026 finals with an easy 4-0 home victory over Lithuania on Monday, finishing top of Group G.
The victory margin could have been even bigger, such was the Dutch dominance, but the result ensured they completed the campaign three points clear of second-placed Poland.
Tijjani Reijnders put the Netherlands 1-0 ahead at halftime before the hosts scored a rapid trio of goals in the second period from Cody Gakpo, Xavi Simons, and Donyell Malen.
The unbeaten Netherlands finished on 20 points, with Poland on 17 after they scraped a 3-2 win away to Malta.
REIJNDERS OPEN SCORING FOR DOMINANT DUTCH
Reijnders opened the scoring in the 16th minute as he turned sharply to finish off a pass from Frenkie de Jong.
He had been left out of the starting side for the 1-1 draw against Poland in Warsaw on Friday, as Justin Kluivert was preferred in the attacking midfield role.
However, Kluivert was injured for Monday’s match, handing Reijnders a chance to remind everyone of his quality.
He almost had a second goal on the half-hour mark, bursting through the middle and hitting the post with a curling right-foot effort.
Three goals in a four-minute spell started fortuitously in the 58th minute when Gakpo converted a penalty awarded after a VAR check showed Artemijus Tutyskinas touched the ball with his fingertip as he went up in an aerial duel with Matthijs de Ligt.
Simons thrashed home the third goal on the hour mark, jockeying past two defenders before a powerful strike gave goalkeeper Edvinas Gertmonas no chance.
Two minutes after that, Malen broke from the halfway line on the counter-attack and showed a swift turn of speed to outsprint the chasing defenders and hammer home with his left foot.
"I think there were some good things in our performance," said playmaker De Jong. "Maybe we faded a bit, but the period after halftime was great for the crowd. Of course, you want to score as much as possible, and 4-0 is ultimately fine.
"Now the real work begins. We're going to improve as much as possible and arrive at the World Cup in the best possible shape," said the midfielder.
Next year’s finals in Canada, Mexico, and the U.S. will be the 12th time the Dutch have participated in the World Cup. They were losing finalists at the 1974, 1978 and 2010 tournaments.
(Writing by Mark Gleeson in Cape Town; Editing by Ken Ferris)
