Netherlands ease to victory over Finland to edge closer to World Cup qualification

The victory keeps them comfortably in the lead in Group G and a step closer to booking a berth at next year’s finals in North America

FIFA World Cup - UEFA Qualifiers - Group G - Netherlands v Finland - Johan Cruyff Arena, Amsterdam, Netherlands - Oct 12, 2025 Netherlands' Virgil van Dijk celebrates after the match REUTERS/Piroschka Van De Wouw

Memphis Depay extended his record-breaking scoring streak for the Netherlands as they cruised to a 4-0 win over Finland in their World Cup qualifier on Sunday.

The victory kept them comfortably in the lead in Group G and a step closer to booking a berth at next year’s finals in North America. They have 16 points from six games, six more than Poland, who play later on Sunday at Lithuania.

Donyell Malen got the scoring going at the Johan Cruyff Arena with an eighth-minute strike, followed by a header from Virgil van Dijk nine minutes later.

Depay tucked away a 38th-minute penalty to take his tally of goals for the Dutch to 54, having gone past Robin van Persie’s previous record of 50 last month, before Cody Gakpo made it 4-0 six minutes from fulltime.