Xavi sees room for improvement after Netherlands win

The Netherlands beat Serbia 2-1 in Eindhoven on Sunday, with Joshua Zirkzee scoring the winner in the 71st minute. The ANP-attributed report published by Nieuws.nl describes it as the team’s first home victory under coach Xavi Hernández. The result leaves the Netherlands with eight points from four matches in Group 2 of Nations League A. [1]

Teun Koopmeiners put the hosts ahead with a free kick in the 31st minute. Mihajlo Cvetković equalised with a header four minutes later, before Zirkzee scored from a Tijjani Reijnders assist. [1]

Captain Virgil van Dijk also made his 100th appearance for the Netherlands in the match, according to the report. [1]

Update

Speaking after the Netherlands’ 2–1 Nations League home win over Serbia, Xavi Hernández said he felt positive about his first weeks as national coach but that his team needed to defend and attack better. [2]

Xavi said the Netherlands had tried to keep possession and create an extra player in midfield before half-time, but struggled with Serbia’s man-to-man marking. A change of formation after the break worked better, he said. ANP reported that the team had difficulty protecting its lead late in the match after Micky van de Ven went off. [2]