Greece were essentially powerless in Amsterdam. The Dutch created eight big chances, finished with an expected goals (xG) value of 4.40, and hit the target with 13 of their 17 shots. In contrast, the visitors registered only nine shots (xG 0.39), with just one effort forcing a save.
The hosts secured their crushing victory by dominating the first half, which ended 5-0. According to Opta, this was the first time they had scored five goals before halftime since September 5th, 2001.
Coincidentally, it was also the first time since that same date that Greece had conceded five goals in a single half of an international match.
Furthermore, the Dutch attack has been in fine form for some time. The Oranje have scored five of their goals in the 2026 calendar year within the opening 10 minutes of matches, a feat they last – and previously only – achieved in 1974.
Three shots, three goals
The attacking midfielder, who previously played for AC Milan and Manchester City, demonstrated a clinical killer instinct. Reijnders opened the scoring in the 12th minute from a Veerman pass, doubled the lead six minutes later following a Malen assist, and completed his hat-trick in the 33rd minute after being picked out by Denzel Dumfries.
All three of his shots came from inside the penalty area, and all three found the net. While his total xG for those chances was 1.40, the quality of his finishing pushed his xGOT to 2.26! It was not just a case of flawless efficiency, Reijnders also demonstrated world-class precision in his execution.
He spent only 63 minutes on the pitch, yet managed to touch the ball five times in the opponent's penalty area. Flashscore awarded him a rating of 9.3.
His achievement also carries historical significance. Reijnders is the first Dutch international since Marco van Basten to complete a hat-trick in the first half. The legendary striker achieved the feat in December 1990 against Malta.
Man of the match
The most complete offensive performance, however, came from Malen. Although the AS Roma forward waited until the final stages to round off the scoring at 7-0, he had previously set up Reijnders' second goal with a brilliant acrobatic volley and provided the assist for Timber's strike to make it 5-0.
In addition, he created two big chances, played three key passes leading to shots, and generated an excellent 1.24 expected assists.
Malen was also extremely active in one-on-one situations. He succeeded in four of his seven dribbles and touched the ball 11 times inside the Greek penalty area. He needed only one shot to score his goal, which carried an xG value of just 0.11.
This was Malen's first goal for the national team in the 2026 calendar year. In that same period, he has already racked up 22 goals for his club, the highest tally of any player across Europe's top five leagues.
With 33 touches, he completed 19 of 21 passes, added four progressive carries, and successfully completed four of five progressive passes. A rating of 9.5 made him the man of the match.
Timber fired like a striker
Timber recorded two goals from his position as a full-back, marking his first-ever goals in a Dutch jersey. He first finished a move following a Malen pass in the 40th minute, then extended the lead to 6-0 after the break.
Both of his attempts were on target, and he converted both. Timber was involved in chances worth 1.16 xG, which he improved to 1.54 xGOT with his clinical finishing. Beyond his goal contributions, he created one big chance, recorded a key pass, and completed nine of 10 passes in the final third.
A rating of 9.1 is confirmation of an exceptional evening for the Arsenal defender.
Veerman pulled the strings
Veerman received the same rating, even though he was directly involved in only one goal with an assist. As a metronomic central midfielder, he controlled the tempo of the game and its creative flow. He had 114 touches, completed 88 of 95 passes (93%), including 17 of 22 progressive passes. In the final third, he completed 26 of 30 passes.
He contributed the assist for Reijnders' opening goal, created two big chances in total, and played five key passes. His xA reached a value of 0.76. Furthermore, Veerman handled his defensive duties well: he gained possession four times, made five clearances to avert danger, and won both of his defensive tackles.
Frenkie de Jong also performed exceptionally, recording 80 passes with a 98.8% accuracy rate in just 45 minutes! He became the first Dutch midfielder in Opta's database since 2013 to complete at least 80 passes with such high accuracy. The manager substituted him at halftime as a precautionary measure.
The Netherlands did not just record a big win against Greece; they produced an exceptionally focused team performance. Reijnders provided the goals, Malen the creativity and individual quality, Timber the unexpected firepower from the back, and Veerman supplied the entire attacking machine with precise passes.
The result? A berth in the Nations League quarter-finals that, while not mathematically confirmed, is all but assured.