Wout Weghorst celebrates after scoring the hosts’ third goal in Amsterdam.Photograph: Rene Nijhuis/MB Media/Getty Images
At the Johan Cruyff Arena Steve Clarke would not demand pretty football, only a Scotland victory after five games without enjoying one. Instead, the run is now six as the manager oversaw an embarrassing fourth loss of this run and must now target Tuesday’s visit of Northern Ireland to Hampden Park to stop the slump.
His side were profligate and Netherlands clinical, Georginio Wijnaldum’s 72nd-minute header joining Tijjani Reijnders’s first-half opener and emulated by finishes from Wout Weghorst and Donyell Malen, as Scotland’s European Championship preparations suffered a body blow.
Related: Netherlands 4-0 Scotland: international football friendly – live reaction
Clarke, privately, should upbraid his players because they were the opposite of streetwise, despite initially giving their hosts a schooling.
The Dutch are supposedly masters of ball and space so a surprise was witnessing them being wheeled out of position in the opening half when slick work along Scotland’s left had Ryan Christie and Andy Robertson combining to move them downfield. Ronald Koeman’s men thwarted this foray yet here was the clever play of the level Clarke spoke of wishing to attain.
Jeremie Frimpong was mugged by Robertson and though his cross to the back post required a runner, Scott McTominay, Billy Gilmour, and Jack Hendry constructed sequences from the back with composure and Scotland nearly struck after Gilmour dropped a deep cross in from the right. Christie propelled himself at the ball, the header crashed off the bar via a Mark Flekken hand, and Lawrence Shankland failed to connect with the rebound.
The Dutch were powerless to stop those in blue flitting about with the ball so Frimpong’s failure to find a teammate when unmarked in the visitors’ area was poor. So, too, the same player’s skewed control of a right-to-left Memphis Depay pass that would have had him racing at goal.
Scottish preeminence was found in an atmosphere as muted as those in orange despite Koeman’s XI appearing formidable in featuring Nathan Aké, Wijnaldum, Depay, Cody Gakpo and being led by Virgil van Dijk. But, this was no well-oiled machine functioning in high gear, as from Xavi Simons’ free-kick the wide forward struck the ball straight out for a goal kick summed up.
Yet any delight Clarke felt soured as Netherlands scored courtesy of lax defending and suspect goalkeeping. First, Reijnders was given an acre to be found outside Scotland’s area. Then, though his shot was blistering and to Angus Gunn’s right, the No 1 failed to elevate himself high enough and in went the opener at around shoulder height.
The Scots had been sucker-punched and Clarke’s interval chat thus changed.
When selection is at stake for a major tournament the notion of friendlies being phoney wars is discarded, as illustrated by his selection of Shankland: Che Adams was expected to start but after plundering 27 goals in 39 games for Hearts this season (plus one in five minutes for Scotland in two substitute appearances) the 28-year-old was handed a chance to lead the attack.
Yet at the break, despite the Milan midfielder’s strike not being his fault, Clarke might ponder replacing him as the attack lacked teeth. Clarke did not though he surely informed his charges that they had to be ruthless if they were to prosper in the second half, and at Euro 2024. If this was the message McTominay’s dally in the area before unloading will have infuriated as, again, Netherlands were allowed to escape.
The corollary was the hosts’ confidence jagging upwards. A Depay swivel-and-shot needed a sharp Gunn save – to his right – following smart Dutch interplay and
John McGinn decided to go more direct, blazing at goal, then collecting from Flekken’s parry and crossing to Christie: his header was spooned wide but a Gilmour attempt that was deflected came seconds later which perhaps augured better for Scotland.
But Gakpo might have doubled the lead with an attempt that was the product of Netherlands having taken control and this was now a test of Scotland’s ability to edge a way back – from the deficit and being under the hammer. Suddenly, following a Mats Wieffer error and Shankland had the chance to engineer this, but though his lob beat Flekken it was too high and clipped the bar.
On 68 minutes Clarke made a triple substitution, Adams for Shankland one of these, with John Souttar replacing Kieran Tierney and Lewis Ferguson on for Gilmour.
After Wijnaldum registered, Weghorst and Malen did the same – the Borussia Dortmund forward able to stroll through Scotland’s defence. This and their performance was not good enough.
