The Netherlands qualified for the 2026 Football World Cup with a 4-0 win over Lithuania

The Netherlands, a three-time World Cup runner-up, secured a place in the 2026 FIFA World Cup final with an easy 4-0 home win over Lithuania on Monday to finish top of Group G.

The margin of victory could have been even greater, such was the Dutch dominance, but the result saw the country complete the campaign three points ahead of second-placed Poland.

Tijjani Reijnders put the Netherlands 1-0 ahead at halftime before the hosts scored a quick trio of goals from Cody Gakpo, Xavi Simons and Donyell Malen in the second period.

The undefeated Netherlands finished on 20 points, while Poland finished on 17 points after winning 3-2 against Malta.

Reijnders opened the scoring in the 16th minute when he turned sharply to finish a pass from Frenkie de Jong.

He was left out of the 1-1 draw against Poland in Warsaw on Friday, as Justin Kluivert was favored in the attacking midfield role.

However, Kluivert was injured before Monday’s match, giving Reijnders the opportunity to remind everyone of his quality. He almost scored a second goal after half an hour, bursting through the middle and hitting the post with a curling right foot.

Three goals in four minutes happened to start in the 58th minute when Gakpo converted a penalty awarded after a VAR check showed Artemijus Tutyskinas touched the ball with his fingertip as he went up in an aerial duel with Matthijs de Ligt.

Simons scored the third goal within the hour, jockeying past two defenders before a powerful attack gave goalkeeper Edvinas Gertmonas no chance.

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Two minutes later, Malen broke from the halfway line on the counter-attack and showed a quick change of pace to outwit the pursuing defenders and hammer home with his left foot.

“I think there were some good things in our performance,” said playmaker De Jong. «Maybe we dropped off a bit, but the period after the break was great for the crowd. Of course you want to score as much as possible and 4-0 is ultimately fine.»

«Now the real work begins. We are going to improve as much as possible and arrive at the World Cup in the best possible shape,» said the midfielder.

Next year’s finals in Canada, Mexico and the US will be the twelfth time that the Netherlands has participated in the World Cup. They were losing finalists at the 1974, 1978 and 2010 tournaments.

Published on November 18, 2025