Memphis Depay scored a hat-trick as the Netherlands ran out 6-1 winner over 10-man Turkey at the Amsterdam Arena on Tuesday to go top of World Cup qualifying Group G.
It was the first international treble for the 27-year-old striker as the Dutch posted an emphatic victory for the second time in four days to reach 13 points from six games and take over from Turkey at the head of the section.
Davy Klaassen scored in the opening minute in a dream start for the home side, who had lost 4-2 to Turkey in Istanbul in March at the start of the qualifiers for the Qatar 2022 finals, before Depay added three more, including a penalty.
Guus Til scored the fifth 10 minutes from time and Donyell Malen added a sixth in stoppage time before a consolation goal for Cengiz Under.
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Turkey slipped from top to third in the group as it stayed on 11 points with Norway moving second, behind the Dutch on goal difference, after beating Gibraltar 5-1 on Tuesday.
The Netherlands picked up from where it left off after an emphatic 4-0 win over Montenegro on Saturday to snatch the lead as Klaassen combined with Depay to score almost straight from the kick off.
An aggressive Dutch approach led to Klaassen then providing the assist for Depay’s first goal in the 17th minute as they doubled the score and it was 3-0 at halftime after Depay converted a 38th-minute penalty.
Caglar Soyuncu was booked for a foul on Klaassen to concede the spot kick, which was awarded after a VAR check. The Turkey defender was then sent off for a second caution on the stroke of halftime.
Depay completed his hat-trick with a diving header on the goal-line to touch home Steven Berghuis’s cross in the 54th minute before Til and Malen sealed the win with two more goals.
The one blemish came from a errant pass from goalkeeper Justin Bijlow that allowed Under to score for Turkey with the last kick of the game.
It was a triumphant night for veteran coach Louis van Gaal at the start of his third spell as coach. He had just days to prepare the team for their draw in Norway last Wednesday but has since engineered two emphatic wins and a clear path to automatic qualification.
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Damsgaard shines as Denmark hammer Israel 5-0
Mikkel Damsgaard's superb playmaking laid the foundations for Denmark's 5-0 thrashing of Israel in its Group F World Cup qualifier on Tuesday.
The Danes have now won all six of their games, scoring 22 goals conceding none, and top the standings with 18 points. They have a seven-point lead over second-placed Scotland, with Israel a point further back and four games left to play.
The 21-year-old Damsgaard, who broke into the side after Christian Eriksen suffered a cardiac arrest in their opening Euro 2020 match in June, was once again the creative fulcrum and it was his shot that was parried into the path of Yussuf Poulsen, who scored the opener in the 28th minute.
Captain Simon Kjaer added a second three minutes later and Andreas Skov Olsen also netted before the break. Thomas Delaney scored in the 58th minute and Andreas Cornelius added a fifth in stoppage time as the Danes dominated the game.
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