Portugal 0-3 Netherlands: 5 Talking Points

Final score: Portugal 0-3 Netherlands

Goalscorers: Memphis Depay 11', Ryan Babel 32', and Virgil van Dijk 45'

Preparation for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia is in full swing as teams from across the globe play friendlies to get themselves ready for the big event. The last competitive game between these two teams took place at Euro 2012 where Portugal beat Netherlands 2-1 to reach the quarter-finals.

Portugal came into the game with a 2-1 win against Egypt a few days back while the Netherlands lost 1-0 England. Cristiano Ronaldo could not save Portugal this time, as they went down crashing against the spirited Dutch side.

On that note, let's take a look at the key talking points from the game between Portugal and Netherlands.

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#5 Portugal's defence let them down

Pepe's absence was felt by Santos' side

In the absence of their veteran defender Pepe, the centre-back pairing of Jose Fonte and Rolando looked unconvincing at the back. They were troubled throughout the night by the Netherland's frontline.

The pace of Memphis Depay and Ryan Babel was too much for Fonte and Rolando to handle. They were too slow on quite a few occasions and Fonte let Depay get in front of him to pounce on a loose ball and open the scoring.

Rolando was rightly substituted at halftime but the damage was already done. Fernando Santos needs to sort out his defensive frailties, sooner rather than later.

#4 Memphis Depay had a night to remember

Memphis Depay (second from left) had a brilliant outing

The former Manchester United winger had a wonderful game against the European Champions. He troubled the Portuguese backline with his pace and was lively throughout the night.

Netherlands opened the scoring in the 11th minute as Memphis Depay turned a Donny van de Beek effort into the back of the net from close range. Fonte was too slow to react as Depay pounced on the loose ball and finished it with aplomb.

He was given a lot of space in the final third and was unlucky not to have his second. Lopes did wonderfully well to keep out Memphis' header in the 43rd minute.

#3 Portugal showed spirit with 10 men and fought till the end

Portugal showed fight but lacked the cutting edge

Portugal were reduced to 10 men when Joao Cancelo was shown a second yellow card in the 61st minute for a late challenge on Tonny Vilhena. To add to that, Santos withdrew Cristiano Ronaldo in the 68th minute.

But, Portugal played their best football in the last 22 minutes. Introduction of Gelsons Martins and Joao Moutinho made a difference to the Portugal side. They looked threatening and created quite a few goalscoring chances late in the game.

Martins, in particular, was threatening from the wide areas and made some wonderful crosses into the box. Portugal came close to scoring twice in the 90th minute but was kept out by a wonderful Cillessen save and a goal-line clearance from Van De Beek.

#2 Tale of two 18-year-old wonderkids from the Netherlands

Justin Kluivert made his Netherlands debut

It was a night to remember for the two 18-year-old kids from Ajax, Matthijs de Ligt and Justin Kluivert. De Ligt made his second successive start at the heart of Netherlands defence while Justin Kluivert was handed his Netherlands debut off the bench.

Thought to be the future of the Netherlands football, Matthijs de Ligt produced a solid display at the back. Not content with his defensive duties, he made 2 assists on the night.

He produced a wonderful cross for Ryal Babel to score in the 32nd minute and assisted Virgil van Dijk for Netherland's third goal. Justin Kluivert was given his international debut when he replaced Memphis Depay in the 78th minute. The youngster did not get a chance to show his potential as Portugal dominated the last few minutes.

#1 Cristiano Ronaldo cannot save Portugal in every game

Afterall he is a human

Cristiano Ronaldo saved Portugal against Egypt, but could not repeat his magic on the night against the Netherlands side. Apart from a couple of decent chances and a penalty shout, the Real Madrid star did not have much to do in the game.

The truth is, he did not get enough support from the players around him. Bernardo Silva started on the bench while Ricardo Quaresma, Manuell Fernandes and Andre Gomes had a quiet outing.

Gomes, in particular, was nowhere to be seen on the pitch in the first 45 minutes and was rightly substituted at the half-time. Fernando Santos' side lacked the cutting edge in the final third of the field and ended up losing badly.