Netherlands vs. Greece: Score and Reaction from 2016 International Friendly

Greece beat the Netherlands 2-1 in a fiery international friendly on Thursday, the last friendly for both teams before they start their FIFA 2018 World Cup qualification campaigns.

Georginio Wijnaldum gave the Netherlands an early and deserved lead as the hosts started well, but the Dutch soon started to struggle and watched as Kostas Mitroglou tied things up.

The pace of the match dropped dramatically after half-time, and Giannis Gianniotas shocked the hosts by giving the Greeks the lead with less than 20 minutes left to play. The Netherlands tried to earn a draw with a late push, but Greece easily stood firm.

As shared by Football Oranje, the Netherlands handed Vincent Janssen another start at the striker position, while Wesley Sneijder slid into midfield:

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Netherlands XI v Greece: Zoet, Veltman, Blind, Bruma, Willems, Strootman, Sneijder, Wijnaldum, Berghuis, Promes, Janssen

— Dutch Football (@football_oranje) September 1, 2016"

While Thursday's clash may only have been an international friendly, both teams came out with a healthy dose of aggression. Rough, borderline challenges came early and often, and attacking impulses were rare.

Wijnaldum tried to dash into the box before he was stopped by Giorgos Tzavellas, and Sneijder's deflected shot didn't trouble Orestis Karnezis. On the other side of the pitch, Steven Berghuis was lucky to escape without a booking for a very late tackle on Konstantinos Fortounis.

ROBIN VAN LONKHUIJSEN/Getty Images

Kostas Manolas wasn't so lucky, as he ran into the first yellow card of the match after just 10 minutes for a foul on Janssen.

The hosts were the better team and were rewarded for their bright start after just 14 minutes. A poor giveaway from Greece saw Janssen make the byline before cutting back to Wijnaldum, and the Liverpool man made no mistakes from close range.

As shared by OptaJohan, Wijnaldum has been excellent for Oranje since Danny Blind replaced Guus Hiddink as manager:

Greece pressed forward for an equaliser immediately after kick-off, but the visitors could barely put any pressure on the Dutch defence. While they had some possession, the Netherlands were happy to wait and aim for the counter-attack, and Sneijder came close to doubling the lead after 20 minutes with a volley that just missed the target.

Fortounis was by far the best Greek player early, and he put goalkeeper Jeroen Zoet to work for the first time, turning sharply before unleashing a great shot toward the top corner.

The Greeks improved as the half wore on, and the Dutch defence had to pay attention to cut off a great pass from Andreas Samaris, who found plenty of space in the centre. Sneijder took a knock just before the half-hour mark but was able to continue after some brief treatment.

Scott Barbour/Getty Images

Oranje appeared to be in full control, but a single perfect cross from Vasilis Torosidis was enough to break the defence wide-open, as Mitroglou powered a header past the helpless Zoet.

Now it was the Netherlands' turn to push up the pitch again, with Quincy Promes threatening with his speed and Sneijder going within inches of scoring with a superb strike from distance. But the momentum soon evaporated, and the final 10 minutes of the half barely saw any action, with fans voicing their displeasure before long.

Zoet cleared a ball into the stands just before Samaris could reach it, and that would be the final moment of excitement of the half.

As noted by Optajohan, the Greeks' physicality really bothered the hosts:

The Greeks made a host of changes to start the second half, but the changes didn't have any impact on the pace of the match. Once again, neither team seemed willing to take any real risks, and the fans were none too happy with what they saw.

VI-Images/Getty Images

Promes and Jetro Willems tried to force the action on the left wing but ran into a well-organised defence, and Mitroglou just couldn't strike after a solid delivery from Samaris, with Wijnaldum clearing. Joel Veltman almost picked out Janssen, but once again, Greece's defence was on point.

Meanwhile, Empty Seats Galore noticed the fans didn't turn out in force in Eindhoven, and some who did show up left early:

Janssen went very close to scoring after 67 minutes, ignoring an open team-mate and instead firing a shot himself that only just missed the target. A mad scramble in front of the Greek goal followed shortly after, but somehow the hosts failed to score.

Incredibly enough, the goal fell on the other side of the pitch. Mitroglou put Zoet to work with a fine strike, and the Dutch defence was caught napping, allowing Gianniotas to slide home the rebound. Football Oranje were not impressed with the Dutch defence, and particularly Jeffrey Bruma:

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Shocking defending at the back by Bruma and Zoet and Greece lead.

— Dutch Football (@football_oranje) September 1, 2016"

The fiery edge to the match finally boiled over minutes after the goal, as Janssen and Kyriakos Papadopoulos had to be separated after a shoving match. The delay only aided Greece's bid to win, and a late header from Janssen didn't change matters.

The Dutch will travel to Sweden on Tuesday for their first 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier, while Greece play Gibraltar.

Post-Match Reaction

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