'We Kept The Faith', Says Gini

By Tom Easterby - Newcastle United Club Reporter

Georginio Wijnaldum believes that keeping the faith was crucial to Holland's comeback in their 2-1 friendly victory over England on Tuesday night.

Midfielder Wijnaldum played the full 90 minutes for Danny Blind's side at Wembley as a penalty from Vincent Janssen and a strike from substitute Luciano Narsingh turned the game on its head after Jamie Vardy had opened the scoring for the Three Lions in the first half.

And United's leading goalscorer so far this season - who went close to scoring his fifth international goal in the capital, seeing his first-half shot turned round the post by ex-Magpie Fraser Forster - told nufc.co.uk that the victory had given him and his Holland teammates a lift after last week's narrow friendly loss to this summer's European Championship hosts France.

"I think we started very well, but unfortunately we went 1-0 behind," he said. "But we still kept the faith and in the second half we scored two goals. Sometimes, we were lucky that they didn't score.

"We told each other in the dressing room that it wasn't over - we still had 45 minutes to change the game, and that's what we did. We kept the faith and, in the second half, I thought we played a good game and scored two goals.

"Every good result that we have is a big one for us and is important because it will give you confidence, and you can go further from that. Especially here, against England in an away game, it is really difficult, but it'll give us more confidence and that's good for the team."

Tuesday night provided Wijnaldum with his first real taste of England's iconic home stadium, as he had been an unused substitute when the two nations faced each other in the capital in 2012.

The 25-year-old said he relished the atmosphere inside the famous ground as the Oranje earned themselves a timely win.

"Last time I was sitting on the bench for 90 minutes but this time I played 90 minutes, so I've made a progression," laughed Wijnaldum. "It's always good to play in big stadiums and it was almost 90,000 people. As football players you want to play for as many fans as possible and Wembley is a stadium that can give you good feelings.

"A lot of people come in the stadium and a lot of people supported England today, but you're still happy that you can play for so many supporters."

The former PSV Eindhoven man will rejoin his Magpies teammates this week as Rafa Benitez prepares his side for their Barclays Premier League trip to Norwich City on Saturday (3pm kick-off).

Wijnaldum helped himself to four goals the last time the two sides met at United recorded an emphatic 6-2 victory last October.

And Newcastle's number five is eyeing another victory over the Canaries - and said that it's time for his team to start racking up some points.

"I will be happy if we win the game because it's an important one, and every game that we have to play now we have to collect points because it's good for the team, and that's the only thing that matters right now," he said.

"My focus was the Dutch team for two games, but on Wednesday I'll go back to Newcastle and then I'll focus on Newcastle again. We want to start winning games."

The Wembley crowd afforded the late Johan Cruyff a minute's applause on Tuesday night, following the 68-year-old football icon's passing last week.

And Wijnaldum paid his own tribute to Cruyff following the game, saying that his influence and legend transcended his 1970s playing-day pomp.

"I think he deserved it. He was a big player, and a big person. He changed the game for everyone," he said.

"He was playing football far before I was born so it was not really in my time, but the way Dutch teams were playing and everyone in Holland is the way he introduced them to football. That's what he also did in Barcelona.

"He gave something new to football."