Ake scores twice as Dutch beat Gibraltar

28th Mar 2023 | Source: BBC

Nathan Ake's fourth and fifth international goals helped seal the win for the Dutch

Nathan Ake scored twice as the Netherlands beat Gibraltar in Euro 2024 qualifying for the first win of Ronald Koeman's second spell in charge.

The Dutch were totally dominant against the minnows in Feyenoord, having all 51 shots in the game and 86% possession.

Koeman took over after the World Cup, but they lost 4-0 to France last Friday in their opening game of this campaign.

Memphis Depay and Ake scored headers from Denzel Dumfries balls, and Ake drove in a late deflected third.

Gibraltar's Liam Walker was sent off in the 51st minute for a bad challenge on Dutch debutant Mats Wieffer.

Koeman, who was previously the Netherlands manager from 2018 to 2020, replaced Louis van Gaal after the World Cup in Qatar.

Gibraltar forward Lee Casciaro extended his record as the oldest player to ever feature in European Championship qualification at the age of 41 years and 179 days.

The team ranked 200th in the world gave an international debut to Dutch-born Niels Hartman, who is currently a student at Loughborough University and plays for their football team.