Ian Maatsen was named a hero on his senior international debut despite the Netherlands’ painful penalty shootout defeat to Spain in the UEFA Nations League.
Spain vs Netherlands was the pick of the bunch in the quarter-final phase as last week’s 2-2 first-leg draw at the Johan Cruyff Arena was followed up by an immense 3-3 thriller – including two extra time goals – at the Mestalla on Sunday night.
Maatsen scored the Netherlands’ second goal to level up the scoring at 2-2, netting an absolute piledriver into the top right-hand corner after a tidy lay-off from Xavi Simons. Lamine Yamal then put Spain 3-2 up in the 103rd minute before Simons equalised from the spot in the second half of extra time, ensuring the tie went the distance.
Neither side made any mistake in their first three penalties as Virgil van Dijk, Mikel Merino, Teun Koopmeiners, Ferran Torres, Simons and Aleix Garcia and Simons all converted from 12 yards. There were then misses from Noa Lang and Yamal, however, before Kenneth Taylor and Alex Baena dispatched their penalties to send the shootout to sudden death.
Aston Villa attacker Donyell Malen, off the bench, had a nightmare as he missed the Netherlands’ fifth penalty. Barcelona midfielder Pedri then fired in emphatically to squeeze Spain through to the semi-finals.
Maatsen, despite scoring earlier in the game, wasn’t given a chance to take a penalty. It’s easy to say he could’ve scored instead of Lang or Malen but it would’ve been nice for him to at least have the opportunity.
Nonetheless, Villa’s number 22 had an international debut to remember. Widely considered the Netherlands’ player of the match, Maatsen scored one goal, created one chance, made six passes into the final third, completed 100 per cent of his crosses, won three tackles, made two recoveries and won seven duels.
Dutch media laud Maatsen
The Dutch national newspapers were delighted with what they saw from Maatsen on his Netherlands bow. The 23-year-old wasn’t even in the senior squad until Friday when he was called up to leave the Jong Oranje setup as Ronald Koeman’s final left-back, Jorrel Hato, was suspended. Meanwhile, Nathan Ake, Micky van de Ven, Quilindschy Hartman and Jurrien Timber were all unavailable due to injury or illness.
Maatsen probably didn’t picture his senior Netherlands debut coming as a result of being called in as a last-ditch reserve, but he certainly took his opportunity. The Dutch media ensured to give credit where credit was due, too, with many publications naming Maatsen as his nation’s standout player.
De Telegraaf, one of the Netherlands’ biggest newspapers, gave the left-back an 8.5/10 rating and wrote: “Maatsen’s speed and the fact that he plays as a left back at his club Aston Villa were the deciding factors. Rightly so, because Maatsen played a great game.
“The start of the 23-year-old born in Vlaardingen was already promising. After a minute and a half he came well in front of Yamal deep in the Spanish half and conquered possession for the Netherlands. An unstoppable shot was then scored by the debutant.”
Voetbal International was a little briefer with its assessment, writing: “For Ian Maatsen it was a special evening. He made his debut, kept Lamine Yamal in check for a long time and scored a beautiful goal. The left-back was rewarded with an 8.5.”
Finally, Football Oranje handed out a slightly inferior 8/10 rating, explaining: “A very promising start for the left-back, who replaced the injured Jurrien Timber. Was excellent going forward and scored a brilliant goal. He was beaten by Yamal for Spain’s third but still comes out of the game with a positive.”
“Beautiful goal”, “Unstoppable” – Aston Villa star hailed after scoring on international debut
