The Netherlands qualified for the World Cup after a convincing win over Lithuania in their final qualifying game at the Johan Cruyff Arena.
The Dutch were anticipated to beat Lithuania with home advantage and did exactly so with a comfortable 4-0 victory in front of their fans.
Manchester United star Matthijs de Ligt got the nod alongside Virgil van Dijk in central defence and delivered a superb performance.
The 26-year-old had 92 touches in the game with a passing accuracy of 88 percent. He won 100 percent of his aerial duels on the night (6/6).
De Ligt made nine ball recoveries with two interceptions and two clearances. He also blocked two shots on goal and won a penalty for Cody Gakpo to score.
The £34 million-rated star made his first Netherlands start in almost a year. It was his first cap since coming on as a late substitute in September.
He will have definitely impressed manager Ronald Koeman.
De Ligt has been in fantastic form during the first half of the campaign and has undoubtedly been United’s best central defender so far.
The onus is now on replicating the consistency as United prepare for a hectic festive schedule.
The Red Devils are languishing seventh in the table, but they are just one point behind fourth-placed Sunderland after 11 matches played.
Hence, they could easily break into the Champions League places with another winning run.
United have a favourable fixture list, with games against Everton, Crystal Palace, West Ham United, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Bournemouth to come.
On current form, the Red Devils should get the better of Everton, West Ham and Wolves. They should fancy their chances of beating Palace and Bournemouth too.
De Ligt has played every minute of United’s league campaign thus far and scored the all-important equaliser at Tottenham Hotspur earlier this month.
His performances will be crucial to United’s upward progress in the league standings.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com & Sofascore.com
