Frank De Boer

The game pitched together two former Netherlands team-mates with Frank de Boer in charge of Atlanta - and it was Stam who prevailed in the head-to-head contest with his compatriot thanks to a 78th-minute strike.

Amaya's goal was worthy of settling the contest too, as he curled home with his left foot from just outside the penalty area.

Atlanta - who have now suffered back-to-back defeats in Group E - were already a man light at that stage, Jake Mulraney receiving two yellow cards inside the opening 26 minutes at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.

De Boer then saw substitute J.J. Williams dismissed deep into 13 minutes of additional time for kicking out at Kendall Waston.

Former Ajax and Inter coach De Boer took over at Atlanta in December 2018 following the departure of Gerardo Martino.

De Boer had previously endured a dismal, short-lived spell as Crystal Palace manager, with the Dutchman sacked after taking charge of just four Premier League games.

Atlanta won the US Open Cup and Campeones Cup in De Boer's first season in charge, with the side finishing second in the MLS' Eastern Conference. 

However, following Atlanta's failure to progress in the MLS is Back tournament, the club have made the decision to part ways with De Boer.

"On behalf of Atlanta United, I would like to thank Frank for his leadership and commitment to the club," said Atlanta president Darren Eales.

"Under Frank's guidance, the club had a strong 2019 season in both MLS and international competition. After discussing it with Frank, the decision was reached mutually to part ways. 

"In winning two trophies in his first season in charge, he will always be a part of the club's history, and with great appreciation and respect we wish him all the best in the future."

Ronald Koeman left his post as national team boss last month to take over at Barcelona following the dismissal of Quique Setien.

De Boer, who made 112 Netherlands appearances and played at two World Cups for his country, has signed a two-year deal that takes him through to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

The 50-year-old enjoyed a promising start to his coaching career, leading Ajax to four straight Eredivisie titles between 2011 and 2014.

However, his appointment may come as somewhat of a surprise given a poor track record since departing the Amsterdam club.

An ill-fated 85-day spell as Inter coach was followed by a forgettable 10-week stay in charge of Crystal Palace.

De Boer did win the U.S. Open Cup during an 18-month stint at MLS side Atlanta United but he departed the team two months ago following an indifferent start to the season.

Previously, De Boer worked for the national team as assistant coach to Bert van Marwijk at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa where Netherlands were beaten by Spain in the final.

His first assignment comes in the friendly match against Mexico on October 7 before the Nations League double header against Bosnia-Herzegovina and Italy.

Koeman was originally scheduled to remain in the post through Euro 2020 but tournament was rescheduled due to the coronavirus pandemic and he opted not to pass up the chance to take over at Barca.

Memphis Depay's 89th-minute free-kick made sure the Netherlands avoided defeat in the friendly fixture between two nations preparing for Euro 2020.

The influential forward had also scored in the first half, his left-footed volley cancelling out Jack Hendry's opener for a Scotland team left shorthanded following a positive coronavirus case within the squad.

Substitute Kevin Nisbet restored Scotland's lead soon after coming on as the Dutch looked defensively shaky when lining up in a wing-back formation, though De Boer made clear the squad had little time to work on systems ahead of the match in Faro.

"Has the experiment with the 5-3-2 system failed? No, it has not," De Boer said in his post-match interview with broadcasters NOS.

"I'm not worried at all. We only trained on it once, only three times for 10 minutes. In addition, we also played 4-3-3 at the time.

"In addition, Georginio Wijnaldum and Frenkie de Jong only joined later.

"It seems clear that things need to get better. I saw a few good moments, but there were too few."

De Ligt missed the Oranje's final warm-up friendly due to a groin issue and will not recover in time to face Ukraine in Amsterdam.

Coach Frank de Boer said: "The game comes a little too early. We don't want to take any chances. We've got two more group games.

"If it had been very important, he could have played. He's very close to it."

It is a blow to a Netherlands side who have not won at the European Championship since the 2008 group stage.

The Dutch were quickly beaten in the knockout phase of that competition, lost all three matches at Euro 2012 and then failed to qualify four years later.

Centre-back is suddenly a potential area of weakness, with Virgil van Dijk missing the tournament, while De Boer only confirmed the identity of his starting goalkeeper – 38-year-old Maarten Stekelenburg – on Saturday.

Regular number one Jasper Cillessen, cut from the squad following a positive coronavirus test, was the only ever-present in qualifying besides De Ligt.

Ukraine might make for accommodating opponents for Stekelenburg, though, having themselves lost five in a row at the Euros and failed to score in each defeat.

Andrey Shevchenko, now their coach, is the only player to have ever scored for Ukraine at the finals, as they have failed with 67 shots since his 2012 brace against Sweden.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Netherlands – Memphis Depay

Even with De Boer switching to an unpopular 5-3-2 formation, Depay will be the chief threat in attack. Although Georginio Wijnaldum (eight) outscored his team-mate in qualifying, Depay was involved in a goal every 38 minutes (six goals and seven assists in 495 minutes) – the best rate of any player involved in five or more.

Ukraine – Andriy Pyatov

If Depay is as involved as the Netherlands hope, that will mean another busy outing for Pyatov. The Ukraine goalkeeper saved 88.6 per cent of the shots he faced in qualifying (31 of 35), which was the best rate of any keeper to appear in six or more games.

KEY OPTA FACTS

– This is the first meeting between the Netherlands and Ukraine at a major tournament (World Cup or European Championship). The Dutch are unbeaten in their two friendly encounters – winning 3-0 in Rotterdam in May 2008 and drawing 1-1 in Donetsk in August 2010.
– The Netherlands are playing their first major tournament game at the Johan Cruyff Arena since the Euro 2000 semi-final against Italy, a game in which the Dutch failed to score despite having 31 shots and 71 per cent possession (0-0 after extra time, 1-3 on penalties).
– Since and including 1988, only Germany (six) have reached the semi-finals of the European Championship more often than the Netherlands (four). However, the Netherlands have not made the final four since 2004 and they have not won a game in the tournament since 2008.
– After winning their first game at the European Championship (2-1 v Sweden, 11 June 2012), Ukraine have subsequently lost their past five. In fact, only Yugoslavia have had a longer losing run in the history of the tournament (six in a row, from Euro 1968 to Euro 1984).

Dutch coach Frank de Boer named a final 24-man squad on Friday, picking from an initial 31-man group selected earlier this month.

Inter defender De Vrij was among those to make way, having contracted COVID-19, prompting a lockdown of the Nerazzurri camp.

Their international players have been banned from joining their national teams, although Belgium still called up Romelu Lukaku while De Boer suggested a delayed arrival was possible for De Vrij.

But that complication has created an opportunity for St Juste, a former youth international.

"For Stefan de Vrij, it is of course annoying that he tested positive for corona," De Boer said. "That's why we can't summon him.

"We need to see how that develops and whether Stefan can possibly join later. We'll really have to wait and see.

"With Jeremiah St Juste, who can play at right-back and right-centre, I now have a good replacement. It's nice for him to be able to make his debut in the squad."

Although St Juste's passing accuracy of 79.6 per cent pales next to De Vrij's (93.5 per cent), he has had far more practice in a defensive sense this season at Bundesliga strugglers Mainz.

The 24-year-old contests more duels (9.8, winning 58 per cent), aerial duels (3.9) and tackles (1.9) per 90 minutes than De Vrij, while also contributing more interceptions (2.1) and blocks (0.9).

Goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg, last in a Netherlands squad in October 2017, has also been handed a chance.

Wout Weghorst misses out, his 26 goal involvements in 32 Wolfsburg games not enough, as does Quincy Promes, who was arrested in December in connection to a stabbing earlier last year. The player denied his alleged involvement.

"We are now close to the European Championships," De Boer said. "That means that all players from the provisional squad remain in our picture, even if they are not in the final group now.

"This applies, for example, to Quincy Promes, who I have not selected now. The competition in his position is great and I choose others at the moment.

"Of course I know the stories around him, but for me only one thing applies: you are innocent in the Netherlands until proven guilty. So I treat him just like everyone else."

Netherlands squad in full:

Jasper Cillessen (Valencia), Tim Krul (Norwich City), Maarten Stekelenburg (Ajax); Daley Blind (Ajax), Matthijs de Ligt (Juventus), Denzel Dumfries (PSV), Jeremiah St Juste (Mainz), Kenny Tete (Fulham), Patrick van Aanholt (Crystal Palace), Joel Veltman (Brighton and Hove Albion), Owen Wijndal (AZ); Frenkie de Jong (Barcelona), Ryan Gravenberch (Ajax), Davy Klaassen (Ajax), Marten de Roon (Atalanta), Donny van de Beek (Manchester United), Georginio Wijnaldum (Liverpool); Ryan Babel (Galatasaray), Steven Berghuis (Feyenoord), Steven Bergwijn (Tottenham), Calvin Stengs (AZ), Memphis Depay (Lyon), Luuk de Jong (Sevilla), Donyell Malen (PSV).