(Football news) Netherlands captain Virgil van Dijk netted a second-half winner as they defeated Belgium 1-0 to clinch top spot in their Nations League group and a place in next year's Nations League finals. Van Dijk powered home a strong header from a corner in the 73rd minute at the Amsterdam Arena on Sunday to ensure that the Dutch finished as winners in League A Group Four. The Dutch finished with 16 points, six more than Belgium who had a chance to leapfrog their neighbours and take first place, but had to win by three goals or more. Any hopes of a goal fest quickly died down as the two sides cancelled each other out in a tight tactical battle.
The winner came from a simple set piece with Van Dijk jumping higher than the 18-year-old Zeno Debast, to give Louis van Gaal his 37th victory in his third spell in charge of the national side which subsequently equalled the record for a Dutch coach held by Dick Advocaat. Belgium’s coach Roberto Martinez had to sit in the stands after being shown a red card at the end of last week's win over Wales. Belgium had a chance for a perfect start after only four minutes with Eden Hazard blazing the shot over the crossbar after being set up by Amadou Onana. Belgium might have forced a draw as a spectacular bicycle effort from substitute Dodi Lukebakio hit the crossbar with the final kick of the game.
"We wanted to win but it wasn't a great game. We could have done better but we also had to work hard against a team with a lot of quality players. But winning was the most important," Van Dijk said after the match.
Defending Nations League champions France lost 2-0 to Denmark in their final Group game but somehow salvaged their place in the top tier at the end of a dismal campaign. Didier Deschamps's side now will face the same opponents in Group D at the World Cup in November. France conceded first-half goals which were scored by Kasper Dolberg and Andreas Skov Olsen as Les Bleus finished third in their Group with five points from six games. Austria were relegated to League B after a 3-1 defeat to Croatia as they qualified for the final four with 13 points which was one point ahead of Denmark.
The world champions had several first-choice players out injured including the likes of Paul Pogba, Karim Benzema and Hugo Lloris, Deschamps will be hoping that they will recover for the tournament in Qatar. Denmark opened the scoring on the 34th minute mark when Dolberg latched on to a perfect cross from Damsgaard. Five minutes later, Skov Olsen scored a beautiful volley from just outside the box as Denmark took a 2-0 lead. France struggled to deal with the set piece threat and their opponents' pace and after the break, Kasper Schmeichel denied Mbappe at the end of a counter-attack and blocked a powerful shot from close range. France lacked defensive stability with Raphael Varane on the bench as Deschamps looked to preserve key players and give youngsters the opportunity.
"We had a lot of chances, but we were not aggressive enough and made several technical mistakes," Deschamps said. "We had a young team and they don't have the experience of a high level. Tonight was a reality check. I'm not worried about the World Cup because we'll get most of our injured players back in time. We don't, however, think we're stronger than the others and we know it's going to be a big fight."
Also read: Wales relegated from Nations League after defeat to Poland
