Manchester United fans will have kept close tabs on Joshua Zirkzee as he started in attack for the Netherlands against Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The first international break of the season is already upon us and this can be a very frustrating time in the campaign.
The new season is only just underway and seeing club football disappear for two weeks is never particularly fun.
Manchester United have several players in international action and fans will be keen to see their progress.
Bruno Fernandes and Diogo Dalot featured for Portugal against Croatia on Thursday night and even teamed up for a first-half goal.
On Saturday evening, it was the turn of Matthijs de Ligt and Joshua Zirkzee as the two summer signings lined up for the Netherlands.
Dutch press on Joshua Zirkzee
Bosnia and Herzegovina were the opponents for the Netherlands in Amsterdam with Zirkzee leading the line.
The Dutch attack is going through some changes right now and Zirkzee was given a chance to shine.
The United ace certainly seized that opportunity and opened the scoring with a deft flicked header which went in via the post.
That was Zirkzee’s first senior goal for the Netherlands and he wasn’t done there.
Zirkzee set up Tijjani Reijnders to make it 2-1 just before half time as the Netherlands went on to win 5-2.
Zirkzee can be delighted with his contribution and he has now received major praise in the Dutch media.
Voetbal Primeur handed Zirkzee an eight out of 10 rating, praising his ‘beautiful passes’ and his connection with AC Milan midfielder Reijnders.
“With a goal and an assist, his starting debut in Oranje could not have gone better. Zirkzee was frequently involved in the game and scattered with beautiful passes. His connection with Reijnders was particularly striking,” they wrote.
Sport Nieuws went with an eight rating too, just like Voetbal Flitsen, whilst Voetbal Zone went even higher, handing Zirkzee an 8.5 rating.
“Joshua Zirkzee gave his calling card as striker of Oranje. He opened the score and also gave the assist for the 2-1 by Reijnders just before half-time. In addition, the hard-working Zirkzee was present and it was noticeable that he and Reijnders got along well,” they wrote.
Zirkzee takes his chance
Zirkzee has made a decent start to life at United, scoring the winner against Fulham on the opening day of the season.
After missing a couple of chances against Liverpool, Zirkzee’s finishing ability has been questioned in recent days.
Zirkzee does need time to adjust from Serie A to the Premier League and will hopefully become more clinical in the future having only scored 13 goals in 53 Serie A games.
The 23-year-old certainly has talent and seeing him take his opportunity for the Netherlands is a major boost.
Former United attacker Memphis is currently a free agent and looks set to move to Brazil in the coming days.
That may take him out of the limelight as the top attacker for the Netherlands and Zirkzee has now shown that he can make a big impact.
This should be a real confidence boost for Zirkzee and, hopefully, we will see this transfer to Premier League action soon enough.
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