With his camera-loving celebrations, Leroy Lita is considered by some too arrogant for his own good. Even as he nominated himself to take the 88th-minute penalty in the goalless draw against the Czech Republic last week, pointing to his chest and demanding the ball, there was a self-belief that may have contributed to him dragging the ball wide.

But how much belief is too much? The Reading forward has responded by scoring three goals in as many matches since, terrifying the Italy defence last Thursday, even as he managed to miss an open goal from three yards and blasted another chance against the crossbar before scoring with a left-footed finish free of fear.

He did manage to score from three yards against Serbia, connecting with the ball from close range, and then, adrenalin under control, went one step better last night. Holland may play a nominal 4-4-2 system, but Hedwiges Maduro does so much in his holding role to make them tick. Lita did a selfless job in dropping off whenever the hosts were coming out with the ball, to make sure that the Ajax midfield player could not wallow in the luxury of possession.

That disrupted Holland’s flow and Lita got his reward when he turned Ron Vlaar to drive in left-footed. His sixth goal in nine under-21 matches under his belt, he was free to shrug his shoulders and strut his stuff. Playing as a lone front man in the second period, he had earned the right.