Lackluster Ronaldo fails to fire, Portugal humbled by Netherlands

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World Cup-bound Portugal suffered a 3-0 defeat at the hands of the Netherlands, who missed the bus to Russia, in a friendly on Monday. This was the first win for the Oranje under their new coach Ronald Koeman, who joined the side in February.

Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo couldn’t live up to the expectations as the Dutch showcased an inspiring performance after taking the lead through a Memphis Depay goal 11 minutes into the game. The European champions were 0-3 down before the half-time as Ryan Babel netted in the 32nd minute, while Dutch captain Virgil Van Dijk clinched the third goal in first-half stoppage time.

Davy Propper of Holland, Virgil of Dijk of Holland, Justin Kluivert of Holland, Guus Til of Holland, Nathan Ake of Holland during the International Friendly match against Portugal, March 26, 2018. /VCG Photo‍

To make things worse for Fernando Santos’s side, the Real Madrid player, who could barely improve after a rough challenge early on by Dutch defender Tonny Vilhena, left the field after 68 minutes soon after teammate Joao Cancelo was sent off.

Against a Portuguese lackluster show, it was quite a dazzling show by the Dutch, who are in a rebuilding process after they failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup finals.

Memphis Depay of the Netherlands celebrates 0-1 during the International Friendly match between Portugal v Holland at the Stade de Geneve, March 26, 2018. /VCG Photo

Two of the Dutch goals were assisted by their teenage defender Matthijs De Ligt, and his fellow 18-year-old from Ajax, Justin Kluivert, son of former Dutch striker Patrick Kluivert, made his international debut as a substitute late in the game.

Though Portugal exited the Confederations Cup semifinals in a penalty shootout against Chile in June, this was its first defeat inside 90 minutes since gifting Sweden a 3-2 comeback win in a friendly one year ago. In fact, Portugal has lost a friendly in March for four straight years under Santos. Ronaldo saved his team from defeat on Friday with two stoppage-time headers to beat World Cup-bound Egypt 2-1.