Bergwijn equaliser earns Dutch friendly draw with Germany

Amsterdam (AFP) – Tottenham forward Steven Bergwijn came off the bench to equalise for the Netherlands in a 1-1 friendly draw against Germany in Amsterdam on Tuesday.

After Thomas Mueller had put the Germans ahead just before the break, Bergwijn crashed in the equaliser as the Dutch dominated the second-half.

Eight months before the World Cup kicks off in Qatar, both sides took the chance to look at their playing options in a battle of the European heavyweights.

Germany head coach Hansi Flick was denied a ninth straight victory since taking charge of the Mannschaft last September.

The Germans took a deserved lead after superb work by teenager Jamal Musiala in the build up to Mueller’s goal.

The Bayern Munich starlet sprinted onto a ball in the area and passed across to Kai Havertz, who was heavily marked by Tyrell Malacia.

The ball was cleared only as far as Mueller, who curled in his shot from the edge of the area and punched the air after his 43rd goal for Germany.

It was 1-0 to Germany at the break, but the Dutch responded in the second half and drew level when Spurs forward Bergwijn came off the bench.

When Frenkie De Jong played a diagonal ball to the baseline, Denzel Dumfries headed back for Bergwijn to fire home.

The Dutch were then awarded a penalty midway through the second half when Thilo Kehrer looked to have fouled Memphis Depay.

However, the referee reversed the decision after watching the replay.