Frank de Boer is still waiting for his first win as coach of the Netherlands after a 1-1 friendly draw with Spain at Johan Cruijff Arena on Wednesday.
The 50-year-old was named Ronald Koeman's replacement by the Royal Netherlands Football Association (KNVB) back in September but has now gone four matches without victory after the stalemate in Amsterdam -- the worst start of any coach in their history.
176 - Sergio Ramos 🇪🇸 has won 176 caps for Spain, equalling Gianluigi Buffon’s 🇮🇹 record for international appearances by a European player. Eternal. https://t.co/ro8OpPfn66
— OptaJose (@OptaJose) November 11, 2020
It was a far from ideal start for de Boer and the Dutch when Manchester City's Nathan Ake was forced off injured after just six minutes and replaced by Ajax's Daley Blind. It got worse when they fell behind 12 minutes later.
Juventus' Alvaro Morata played in Real Betis' Sergio Canales, who found the back of the net with a finish across debutant Marco Bizot of AZ Alkmaar for his first goal at senior level for Spain.
4 - Sergio Canales was involved in four of Spain 🇪🇸’s seven shots in the first half against the Netherlands 🇳🇱 (one goal and three key passes), scoring his first international goal. Quality. pic.twitter.com/QpqzJ3WmU5
— OptaJose (@OptaJose) November 11, 2020
The injuries were not finished with Ake as Valencia's Jose Luis Gaya was the next to require a substitution with Tottenham Hotspur's Sergio Reguilon replacing him on the half hour.
It remained 1-0 for the visitors until the break and de Boer took the opportunity to ring the changes with Inter Milan's Stefan de Vrij, Ajax's Davy Klaassen and AZ's Calvin Stengs among those sent on for the second 45.
2 - Donny van de Beek scored two goals with his last two shots for @OnsOranje, after failing to find the net with his first 10 attempts for the Netherlands. Roaring. pic.twitter.com/g0i3LXDPEJ
— OptaJohan (@OptaJohan) November 11, 2020
Just two minutes in and the hosts were level through Manchester United's Donny van de Beek after a ball from AZ's Owen Wijndal found its way through to the 23-year-old to finish for his second international goal after opening his senior account against Italy last month.
Olympique Lyonnais' Memphis Depay was denied by Athletic Club's Unai Simon in the Spanish goal as the Dutch sought a winner and the 26-year-old soon made way for Ryan Babel of Galatasaray.
9 - Álvaro Morata 🇪🇸 has been directly involved in nine goals in his nine appearances between Juventus and Spain this season (six goals and three assists). Impact. pic.twitter.com/rUG747M6X2
— OptaJose (@OptaJose) November 11, 2020
Spain made a late flurry of changes with City's Ferran Torres, RB Leipzig's Dani Olmo and Wolverhampton Wanderers' Adama Traore all introduced as Atletico Madrid's Marco Llorente came on for his debut -- Luis Enrique's 19th as coach.
However, there were no further goals and it finished 1-1 with the Netherlands heading into crucial UEFA Nations League fixtures against Bosnia-Herzegovina and Poland without a win under de Boer.
5 - Five @AZAlkmaar players have made their debut for the Dutch national team in 2019 and 2020 (Calvin Stengs, Myron Boadu, Teun Koopmeiners, Owen Wijndal & Marco Bizot), as many as in between 2008 and 2018. Cheesy. pic.twitter.com/x79sw7FHMI
— OptaJohan (@OptaJohan) November 11, 2020
Spain face Switzerland and Germany but hold a one-point lead in their group -- although they lost to Ukraine last time out.
