The Netherlands secured a first win under head coach Xavi Hernández on Sunday. A 2-1 away victory over Serbia in the UEFA Nations League was powered by a brace from AZ striker Mexx Meerdink, scoring twice in just his second international appearance.

Meerdink opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the 30th minute after Crysencio Summerville was pushed in the box. Veljko Paunović's side equalised immediately after the break through Luka Jovic, who tapped in a rebound. The winner came with twenty minutes left. Substitute Guus Til found Meerdink, who finished with his left foot for 1-2.

The match took an early turn with an injury to Cody Gakpo. The forward was forced off in the 17th minute following a foul by Saša Lukić, who was booked. His replacement, Ruben van Bommel, later hit the post. At the other end, goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen kept his team in it with saves including one from Andrija Živković.

Line-up

Xavi opted for a 4-3-3 in Belgrade with Verbruggen in goal. The defence featured Denzel Dumfries, Jan Paul van Hecke, Virgil van Dijk and Micky van de Ven. The midfield trio was Ryan Gravenberch, Joey Veerman and Tijjani Reijnders. Veerman recorded over 135 touches, the first Dutch midfielder to reach that number since Wesley Sneijder in 2014. The front three were Summerville, Meerdink and Gakpo.

The win moves the Netherlands to four points from two Nations League matches. Next up is an away fixture against Greece on Thursday. The return match against Serbia follows three days later at home.

Joey Veerman reacted to a notable statistic following the 1-2 win over Serbia. The midfielder had 135 touches, the highest number in a Netherlands match since Wesley Sneijder in 2014. "That is quite substantial," Veerman told De Telegraaf. He stressed the figures do not tell the whole story. The Netherlands, unbeaten in their last five matches, play Greece on Thursday.

Kenneth Perez expects Joey Veerman to lose his starting spot once Frenkie de Jong is fit. The ESPN analyst said Monday on Voetbalpraat: "If Frenkie returns, then Veerman no longer plays." Marciano Vink defended Veerman, praising his forward passes.