Netherlands hit eight to thrash Malta in qualifying
Aston Villa forward Donyell Malen scored twice with Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk and Tottenham defender Micky van de Ven also on target as the Netherlands crushed Malta 8-0 in a World Cup qualifier.Former Manchester United midfielder Memphis Depay scored twice in the opening 16 minutes to move on to 50 international goals and equal Robin van Persie's record total for the Netherlands.Van Dijk scored from 20 yards in the 20th minute to make it 3-0 as it became a question of just how many the Dutch would get.Xavi Simons added a fourth just after the hour mark before Malen, who came on in the 72nd minute, finished off two minutes later after good work from Van de Ven to make it five.
Malen set up Noa Lang for the sixth, before the Villa man grabbed his second goal and the hosts' seventh in the 80th minute.Spurs centre-back Van de Ven sealed the rout in the second minute of injury time with his first international goal.The Dutch have now won both of their Group G matches, scoring 10 times and not conceding any, after they won 2-0 away from home against Finland on Saturday. Finland beat Poland 2-1 on Tuesday night to top the group with seven points from their four matches, although the second-placed Netherlands have two games in hand.Poland were without Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski after he said he would not play for his country while Michal Probierz was manager after being stripped of the captaincy at the weekend.Finland led 2-0 with a Joel Pohjanpalo penalty and a 64th-minute goal from Benjamin Kallman, before Poland pulled one back through Arsenal defender Jakob Kiwior. The game in Helsinki was suspended for 20 minutes after a spectator needed medical attention, before the rest of the match was played out and the hosts held on for their success.
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The Sun
30 minutes ago
- The Sun
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Daily Mail
39 minutes ago
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BBC News
43 minutes ago
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Euell joins Preston coaching staff
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