England vs. Netherlands: Score, Reaction from 2016 International Friendly

England failed to claim a first win against the Netherlands since 1996 as they let a 1-0 lead slip and were downed 2-1 by the Dutch at Wembley Stadium on Tuesday.  

Jamie Vardy opened the scoring in the first half, but Vincent Janssen and Luciano Narsingh both netted after the break to condemn the hosts to a defeat.

It was something of a comedown for England after Saturday's 3-2 comeback victory against Germany but a valuable friendly victory for the Dutch who have struggled hugely of late. 

BBC Radio 5 Live provided the two starting XIs ahead of kick-off:

England started the brighter of the two sides, though the Dutch should arguably have gotten the first early opportunity but were denied a penalty.

After eight minutes, Danny Rose felled Joel Veltman late in the area and was fortunate not to concede a spot-kick, per the Mail on Sunday's Oliver Holt:

The atmosphere inside Wembley was somewhat flat, and there was little to get excited about on the pitch early on. But the crowd rose as one in the 14th minute to pay their respects to Dutch legend Johan Cruyff, via Agence France-Presse's Tom Williams:

Ibrahim Afellay forced the first proper save of the night in the 18th minute as he tried his luck against Fraser Forster from long range.

The Southampton stopper was forced into action again eight minutes later as he made a smart stop from a low shot after sloppy England play had let Georginio Wijnaldum in on goal.

Vardy had his own chance minutes later as he bombed into the box and was fed by Danny Rose from the left, but the Leicester City striker blazed his shot over the bar.

He made no mistake four minutes before half-time, though, when he turned the ball home from the penalty spot after Kyle Walker tucked the ball inside from the right.

It was a terrifically worked goal from the hosts, Adam Lallana feeding Walker expertly on the right having found space on the edge of the box with his own Cruyff tribute, per football reporter Laure James:

The Dutch had reason to feel slightly hard done by as the goal came somewhat against the run of play, but they went into the break 1-0 down to manager Roy Hodgson's side.

It did not take long for them to get back on level terms, Janssen rifling a brilliant penalty into the top corner after Danny Rose was sanctioned for a handball in the 50th minute, via ITV Football:

The AZ Alkmaar striker had been denied seconds earlier by a fantastic Forster save after he pounced on John Stones' mistake, but he received a second chance from the spot when Rose blocked a Narsingh cross with his hand.

Forster kept the game level in the 54th minute as he adjusted well to save Riechedly Bazoer's deflected shot.

And Dutch keeper Jeroen Zoet did well to tip over Vardy's stinging effort from the edge of the box eight minutes later.

The ball was in the back of the England net once more 13 minutes from time as Narsingh put his side ahead with a fine finish from 12 yards.

He was fed brilliantly in space from the left byline by Janssen, but there was more than a hint of a foul on Phil Jagielka in the buildup, per the Times' Henry Winter:

Unlike England's win over Germany, there was no comeback from the Three Lions. Manager Danny Blind's side held on with relative comfort until the final whistle to pick up a morale-boosting victory in London.

Post-Match Reaction 

Hodgson felt aggrieved after the game and said his side did not deserve to lose the match, per ITV Football:

Similar sentiments were hinted at by skipper James Milner, although he refused to blame the referee for the defeat, per ITV (via BBC Sport's Neil Johnston): "We don't want to moan about the referee. We have not done enough tonight."

Meanwhile, with the Dutch having met Wales at the end of last year, Blind gave his verdict on how England compare to their Group B rivals for the summer's Euro 2016, per the Press Association's Simon Peach:

The Netherlands boss then added his assessment of the Wembley win, suggesting that England were in fact the better side, per the Independent's Ian Herbert: "England was better, they had more of the ball. We missed 14 players."