Netherlands draws with Spain, France lose to 2-0 to Finland

Donny van de Beek earned Netherlands a 1-1 draw against Spain, while World champion France succumbed to a 2-0 defeat against an in-form Finland.

Published : Nov 12, 2020 09:38 IST , AMSTERDAM

Donny van de Beek and Memphis Depay celebrate Netherlands' equaliser against Spain.
Donny van de Beek and Memphis Depay celebrate Netherlands' equaliser against Spain.
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Donny van de Beek and Memphis Depay celebrate Netherlands' equaliser against Spain.

The Netherlands drew 1-1 at home to Spain in a friendly on Wednesday after Donny van de Beek cancelled out an earlier strike from Sergio Canales.

Netherlands' Manchester City defender Nathan Ake was forced off early in the game with a muscle injury while Spain's Jose Gaya also came off in the first half, after a clash of heads with Hans Hateboer.

Canales struck his first goal for Spain to open the scoring in the 19th minute, latching on to a pass from Alvaro Morata and firing low into the net.

Manchester United midfielder Van de Beek levelled early in the second half, beating Spain's debutant keeper Unai Simon at the near post.

Luis Enrique's side had dominated the first half of the match between the 2010 World Cup finalists but the Netherlands bossed the second and missed two clear chances to win the match.

 

Simon thwarted captain Memphis Depay from close range with a low dive but the forward should really have put the chance away, while Luuk de Jong spurned a late foray into the area, losing control of the ball and allowing Spain's defenders to get back.

Luis Enrique fielded an experimental side ahead of upcoming UEFA Nations League matches against Switzerland and Germany, leaving captain Sergio Ramos and fellow World Cup winner Sergio Busquets out of his lineup, although Ramos came off the bench late on.

France stunned by Finland

France geared up for its upcoming Nations League games with a 2-0 home defeat against Finland as its 12-match unbeaten streak came to an abrupt end on Wednesday.

Marcus Forss and Onni Valakari scored in the first half to give Finland its first win against Les Bleus, having lost all its previous eight encounters going into the game at the Stade de France.

World champion France dominated possession and had the first clear chance when Marcus Thuram's header crashed onto the crossbar, but Didier Deschamps' side, without the injured Kylian Mbappe, lacked inspiration throughout.

Les Bleus, whose last defeat was in June 2019 when they lost 2-0 away to Turkey in a Euro 2020 qualifier, face Portugal away on Saturday and Sweden at home on Tuesday in League A, Group 3 of the Nations League.

 

Forss put the visitor ahead against the run of play, beating keeper Steve Mandanda from close range with Finland's first attempt of the game in the 28th minute.

Valakari doubled the tally three minutes later with a superb 20-metre curled shot.

Deschamps replaced Olivier Giroud with Anthony Martial in the 57th minute and the hugely disappointing Paul Pogba with Ngolo Kante, but the changes had little effect.

Finland has now won four of its last five matches.

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