EINDHOVEN, Netherlands (Reuters) -The Netherlands endured some nervy moments but in the end proved too strong for Bosnia as they began their Nations League campaign with a 5-2 triumph at the Philips Stadion on Saturday.
Joshua Zirkzee scored on his first start for the Dutch to give the hosts a 13th-minute lead in their League A Group 3 encounter but they were caught by a swift counter-attack 14 minutes later that saw Ermedin Demirovic equalise.
Tijjani Reijnders restored the home side’s lead on the stroke of halftime and Cody Gakpo made it 3-1 some 11 minutes into the second half.
Veteran Edin Dzeko pulled one back 17 minutes from fulltime to offer Bosnia hope of getting something out of the game but Dutch pinch hitter Wout Weghorst and Xavi Simons scored in the closing stages to wrap up the victory.
It was the first game for the Dutch since reaching the semi-finals of the European Championship in Germany in July and coach Ronald Koeman refreshed his side with an eye on the 2026 World Cup.
Zirkzee, who made his debut as a substitute at the European Championship after a late call-up to the squad, grabbed the opportunity for a place in the starting lineup with Memphis Depay absent.
UNORTHODOX
He found the net with an unorthodox header, with his back to goal, as he steered a looping ball into the net after Xavi Simons’s shot had been blocked and spun high into the air.
Bosnia’s equaliser was expertly finished by Demirovic and came from two passes from deep in their defence, cutting through the middle of the Dutch line-up.
Reijnders struck the crossbar with a sweeping shot in the 42nd minute and then found the net two minutes into stoppage time at the end of the first half with a left-footed finish after a pass from Zirkzee put him in on goal.
Reijnders turned provider for Gakpo’s goal, with a cutting pass across the face that Gakpo slid home in the 56th minute.
It looked an easy assignment for the Dutch after that until Bosnia’s teenage substitute Esmir Bajraktarevic, who has switched his international allegiance from the U.S. to Bosnia, provided a long, and inch-perfect, pass for the 38-year-old Dzeko to score his 66th goal on his 136th appearance for Bosnia.
Suddenly Bosnia looked dangerous and the Dutch were under pressure but home nerves were settled when Weghorst reacted quickest to a rebound in the 88th minute and then Simons scored two minutes into stoppage time.
(Writing by Mark Gleeson in Cape Town; Editing by Toby Davis)
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