NEC lose final rehearsal against Sevilla and must switch focus to the Champions League | Goal.com

Veröffentlicht am 31 Jul 2026 | Lesezeit: 2 Minuten

NEC lost the friendly against Sevilla 1-2. Sami Ouaissa had put the Nijmegen side ahead, but the Spanish team came out on top in the end. Dick Schreuder's side can now focus fully on next Tuesday's match in the third qualifying round of the Champions League.

Inside ten minutes, Gonzalo Crettaz was almost caught out. Isaac Romero intercepted the ball and tried his luck from his own half. The shot seemed to deceive the NEC goalkeeper, but drifted narrowly wide.

Then, in the 23rd minute, a thunderous volley from Darko Nejasmic crashed off the underside of the crossbar. The Croatian NEC midfielder flicked the ball up brilliantly and struck the woodwork from around 25 metres. Shortly afterwards, Tjaronn Chery had another huge chance, but Alberto Flores saved his effort.

A little later, Sami Ouaissa marked his return with the opener. The Nijmegen side combined superbly through Sevilla's compact defence. In the tightest of spaces, Bryan Linssen and Ouaissa casually found each other before the winger poked the ball home.

But in the 38th minute, the visitors were level out of nowhere. After some sloppy defending in the NEC back line, Nico Guillén broke into the penalty area because Brayann Pereira failed to intervene. Crettaz did not deal with his shot properly, allowing Romero to fire home the rebound.

Shortly before half-time, tempers flared. Chery and Sevilla defender Arouna Sangante squared up to each other, and a scuffle broke out. The second half turned scrappy, with referee Jannick van der Laan forced to dish out plenty of yellow cards as one foul followed another.

For a long spell, there was little to speak of in footballing terms. After an hour, Dusan Tadic and Emre Mor came on, and Sevilla grew stronger. NEC first survived Álex Costa's chance, but after more sloppy defending at the back, they still conceded. Douwe Vernooij was brushed aside too easily, and Sow slid the ball under Crettaz: 1-2.

So the Nijmegen side lose a scrappy match, but their focus now turns fully to the third qualifying round of the Champions League. On Tuesday, NEC begin their qualifying campaign in Piraeus at 20:00.

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