Netherlands rallies for 2-1 friendly win over Peru

The Netherlands came from behind to defeat Peru 2-1 in a friendly tie here, getting a win in Wesley Sneijder's final game with the national squad.

Peru was the more aggressive side in the early going at Johan Cruyff Arena and had a golden opportunity in the opening minutes on Thursday, but Yoshimar Yotun misfired to the right in a one-on-one opportunity against goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen.

Even so, the visitors opened the scoring at the 13-minute mark when midfielder Pedro Aquino headed a precise corner kick from Christian Cueva out of the reach of the Dutch net minder and into the corner of the net, reports Efe news.

The Dutch tried to respond over the remainder of the first half, but Sneijder's attempts to set up scoring opportunities in the area did little to trouble Peruvian goalie Pedro Gallese.

The complexion of the match changed drastically though in the second half, with the Netherlands' offense becoming much more fluid thanks to the play of substitutes Davy Propper and Frenkie de Jong.

Peru began to have trouble maintaining possession and appeared overwhelmed as the Oranje's attack picked up steam.

Forward Memphis Depay scored twice with his left foot over the final half hour of the second half, netting the equalizer for the Netherlands at the 60-minute mark and then scoring the game winner off a deflection in minute 83.

The most emotional moment of the match, however, came in the 62nd minute when Dutch head coach Ronald Koeman sent on Quincy Promes as a substitute for Sneijder.

The 34-year-old midfielder, who tallied 134 caps with the national side from 2003 to 2018, the most all-time for a Dutch player, received a standing ovation from the fans at Johan Cruyff Arena and was embraced one-by-one by his teammates as he left the field.

--IANS

kk/sed