Joshua Zirkzee scored his first international goal during the Netherlands’ 5-2 win over Bosnia-Herzegovina on Saturday night.
The Manchester United striker broke through in a thrilling match at Eindhoven’s Philips Stadion as the Oranje opened their UEFA Nations League campaign with a stunning win.
In his third appearance and first start for his country, Zirkzee got his first goal in Holland, heading in after Xavi Simons’ shot was blocked.
Towards the end of the first half and with the score tied at 1-1, Zirkzee set up Tijani Reijnders for the Netherlands’ second goal of the night.
“Yes, very proud, a proud moment,” he reflected UEFA.com after the match
“My family was here, my grandparents came to see me for the first time in a long time, so it was a great day for all of us.
“Obviously Bosnia-Herzegovina defended in their end and it was up to us to look for combinations and find each other, and today we could have been even more clinical although we did a great job. So overall I think it was good. .”
In an interview on Dutch television, Zirkzee was somewhat more critical of his performance, considering that he should have encountered Reijnders more often.
“It went well, I feel like I made a couple of mistakes. I could have another assist for Reijnders. We clicked well during the game,” he added.
The Netherlands will return to action on Tuesday at home against rivals Germany. After that, Zirkzee will return united to prepare for their Premier League trip to Southampton on Saturday.
