HELSINKI :The Netherlands kicked off their World Cup qualification campaign with a comfortable victory as goals from Memphis Depay and Denzel Dumfries secured a 2-0 away win over Finland on Saturday.
Depay profited from a defensive error to give the Dutch the lead inside six minutes, and Dumfries added a second with a neat finish at the back post midway through the first half.
The Netherlands moved third in Group G with three points, behind leaders Poland, who have won both their games, and Finland who have four points from three matches.
It was a professional performance from the Dutch, who were settled by their early goals and could then coast through the second half to secure a first victory in their World Cup qualification opener since 2012.
“The first one is always difficult,” Netherlands captain Virgil van Dijk told reporters. “Despite the fact that we dominated a large part of the game and perhaps should have made it 3-0.
“We were very good for an hour, the last 30 minutes could have been better.”
Depay latched on to a mis-controlled chested back pass by Kaan Kairinen and his neat finish into the bottom right corner meant no clean sheet for home goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky on his 100th international appearance.
It was a 48th international goal for Depay, leaving him two short of Robin van Persie’s all-time record for the Netherlands.
The Dutch went 2-0 up after 23 minutes when Cody Gakpo’s cross to the back post was volleyed into the roof of the net by Dumfries.
Depay could not beat Hradecky from an excellent chance early in the second half and Gakpo fired into the side netting from a tight angle but Finland rarely threatened to get back into the match.
