THE HAGUE, Nov. 19 (Xinhua) -- Three goals from Georginio Wijnaldum led the Netherlands to a 5-0 victory over Estonia in the final match of Euro 2020 qualifying Group C on Tuesday in Amsterdam.
After having drawn 0-0 in Belfast against Northern Ireland on Saturday, the Netherlands had already secured their place at Euro 2020. In the absence of Virgil van Dijk, who had left the Dutch training camp for personal reasons, Wijnaldum took the captain's armband at the Johan Cruyff Arena.
The skipper opened the scoring in the 6th minute when he headed in a cross by Quincy Promes. The Liverpool midfielder celebrated his goal by taking the hand of team-mate Frenkie de Jong and pointing to their skin colors, as a statement against racism following a racist incident in a Dutch second division match last Sunday.
Nathan Ake headed in the second goal after a cross by Memphis Depay and in the second half Wijnaldum scored twice more, with both goals assisted by debutant Calvin Stengs of AZ. There was still time for a fifth goal, scored by Stengs' club teammate Myron Boadu, after the 18-year-old slotted home from a pass by substitute Kevin Strootman.
The Netherlands finished Group C in second place with 19 points from eight matches, after Germany beat Northern Ireland 6-1 in Frankfurt on Tuesday to finish as group winners with 21 points.
