Daily Times

ROTTERDAM: Netherlands defender Nathan Ake scored twice and Memphis Depay also got on the scoresheet as the hosts laboured to a 3-0 home win over 10-man Gibraltar in a Euro 2024 qualifier on Monday. Depay put the hosts ahead at halftime and Ake’s double came after the break in another unconvincing Dutch performance, this time against one of Europe’s smallest soccer nations after being thumped in France last week in their first Group B game. France lead the group on six points from two games after beating Ireland 1-0 away, while second-placed Greece, who have only played once, and the Netherlands have three points. The Dutch had 48 efforts on goal but only 11 on target, showing little of the sharpness coach Ronald Koeman had been looking for in a reaction to their 4-0 loss in Paris on Friday. “We were sloppy in possession. It was a very difficult evening,” said Dutch skipper Virgil van Dijk. “We’d hoped to try to destroy them but scored three goals when we actually should have scored a lot more. That is something we have to improve for the next period.”