Netherlands vs. Mexico: Winners and Losers from International Friendly

Carlos Vela scored twice in his return to the Mexican national team and led El Tri to their first victory over the Netherlands in more than half a century—a 3-2 win in Amsterdam.

Javier Hernandez also found the back of the net for the CONCACAF outfit while Wesley Sneijder and Daley Blind provided the goals for the European giants.

But Miguel Herrera will have been by far the happier of the two managers at the final whistle, especially given Mexico's loss to the Dutch at the 2014 World Cup—a defeat he can now view as at least partially put right.

Guus Hiddink, on the other hand, has now dropped four matches out of five since replacing Louis van Gaal as Netherlands manager and still has work to do if he hopes to take his side into the 2016 European Championship finals.

On the pitch, a handful of performances stood out for their quality; others for their lack of it.

Following are the individual winners and losers from Wednesday's encounter.

Winner: Andres Guardado, Who Was Immense on Both Sides of the Ball

Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press

Andres Guardado has often played on the left-hand side of the attack over the course of his nine-year career in the Mexican national team.

His current role, however, is in the centre of midfield, and on Wednesday he put in an influential performance on both sides of the ball.

In the 69th minute, he played an inch-perfect through ball for Javier Hernandez to run onto, and the Real Madrid striker proceeded to round Netherlands goalkeeper Tim Krul and score what proved to be the winner.

Then, in both the 83rd and 85th minutes, the 28-year-old made important interventions to deny Arjen Robben a sight of goal.

Wiso Vazquez, host of ESPN's En La Mira, singled out Guardado's touch of the ball for praise via Twitter.

Loser: Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, Who Was Wasteful in Front of Goal

Peter Dejong/Associated Press

It just wasn't Klaas-Jan Huntelaar's night.

Whether scuffing his shots or missing sitters, the Netherlands striker just couldn't find the back of the net against Mexico on Wednesday.

His biggest miss came in the 42nd minute, when he smashed the ball wide in front of an open goal following a corner. By the final whistle, even the number on his shirt had seen enough, the "9" peeling off of his back.

No doubt the 31-year-old will want to put this performance behind him as quickly as possible.

Winners: The Herreras, All Three of Them

Peter Dejong/Associated Press

All three of Mexico's Herreras enjoyed terrific showings on Wednesday.

Midfielder Hector Herrera muscled past his marker before setting up Carlos Vela for the opener, and defender Miguel Angel Herrera didn't give Netherlands striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar an inch in front of goal.

Finally, manager Miguel Herrera deserves credit for recalling Carlos Vela to the national setup, and he was also able to influence the match in Mexico's favour through his second-half substitutions.

As ESPN's Tom Marshall pointed out on Twitter, the withdrawal of Miguel Angel Herrera for Jesus Corona proved instrumental, as Corona picked up an assist on Vela's second.

Winner: Wesley Sneijder, Who Scored a Stunning Goal

Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images

Not much went right for the Netherlands on Wednesday, but at least Wesley Sneijder will be able to look back at the encounter with an element of fondness.

The Galatasaray playmaker won his 110th cap for his country against Mexico, and he celebrated the occasion by scoring a stunning goal in the 49th minute.

After waiting for Adrian Aldrete's defensive header to land at his feet, Sneijder proceeded to hit a spectacular, curling effort from distance that beat Mexico goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa to the far corner.

Unfortunately for the Dutch, none of Sneijder's teammates were as impactful.

Loser: Aston Villa, Who Watched Ron Vlaar Go Down to Injury

Victor R. Caivano/Associated Press

Ron Vlaar only recently made his Aston Villa return following a calf injury, and the Premier League club will have been horrified to see the Netherlands defender crumple to ground in the first half of Wednesday's match.

Only 24 minutes had ticked off the clock when it became apparent that the 29-year-old couldn't continue, and he was shortly replaced by Stefan de Vrij.

Given the spaces from which Carlos Vela and Javier Hernandez would later score their goals, the Dutch could have done with Vlaar for the entirety of the friendly.

Winner: Carlos Vela, Who Bagged a Brace on His Mexico Return

Peter Dejong/Associated Press

Carlos Vela's international exile ended when the first ball was kicked in Amsterdam, and eight minutes later an international goal-scoring drought of more than four years reached its conclusion when the Mexico striker hit an unstoppable shot from distance to open the scoring.

The 25-year-old completed his brace just after the hour-mark, following some lung-bursting work from Jesus Corona, and over the course of Wednesday's match against the Netherlands he also combined nicely up front with Javier Hernandez.

Mexico could do with a goal-scoring forward to bolster an attacking corps that already includes Hernandez and Oribe Peralta. Vela gives them the option, and as he showed in his return, his time away from the national team was time wasted.