"Lithuania were caught playing out from the back in the 16th minute, with Tijjani Reijnders spinning to meet Frenkie de Jong's throughball and rifle his effort into the top-left corner. He arguably should have had a second shortly after; he broke through the defence once more, only to bend his outside-of-the-boot shot off the left post. Lithuania offered very little threat, but a second-half collapse ensured there was no way back into the game after Artemijus Tutyskinas was penalised for a handball."
"Gakpo confidently swept home the resulting penalty in the 58th minute, and Xavi Simons added a second just two minutes later. He latched onto Gakpo's low cross and curled his effort around the defender and into the roof of the net. Donyell Malen then added some gloss to the scoreline, racing forward down the right after a Lithuania corner was cleared, and he cut inside to poke a powerful shot past a helpless Edvinas Gertmonas."
Netherlands secured a 4-0 win over Lithuania to qualify for the 2026 World Cup. Tijjani Reijnders opened the scoring in the 16th minute after meeting Frenkie de Jong's throughball. A second-half collapse by Lithuania produced three goals in four minutes following an Artemijus Tutyskinas handball. Cody Gakpo converted the penalty, Xavi Simons curled in a second from Gakpo's cross, and Donyell Malen added a fourth after a counter. Substitute Emmanuel Emegha struck the post late on. The Netherlands finished three points clear in Group G while Poland beat Malta to clinch a play-off place. The match featured dominant first-half possession and 2.2 xG from 12 second-half efforts.
Read at Soccer News
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