After returning to the squad, Jeremie Frimpong started in Ronald Koeman's attack alongside Cody Gakpo and Ajax striker Wout Weghorst, who started with Mexx Meerdink out injured, and after Memphis Depay joined the squad late after having his passport stolen in Brazil.
Jurrien Timber accompanied Virgil van Dijk in the heart of Oranje's defence and saw his partner almost give Malta a hugely unexpected lead when the Liverpool and Netherlands skipper played a poor pass back to Bart Verbruggen, which Irvin Cardona intercepted. The St. Etienne striker fired his shot wide, sparing Van Dijk a fatal mistake.
The Netherlands were looking to go up quickly and were momentarily rewarded for their efforts when Wout Weghorst fired the ball into the back of the net, were it not for referee Duje Strukan blowing for a penalty instead of letting play continue.
Cody Gakpo, who was fouled for the penalty, was entrusted with the spot-kick and calmly converted in the bottom-right corner after 12 minutes.
The Liverpool winger came very close to a second shortly after, but saw his long-distance effort hit the post.
Coach Ronald Koeman's men played in a low tempo for the majority of the first half, giving Malta a lifeline that the minnows almost redeemed when Ryan Camenzuli and Ylyas Chouaref both took shots that went wide or were blocked.
Oranje thought they'd been given a second penalty when Strukan blew for a penalty after a suspected handball from Matthew Guillaumier. The penalty was ruled out, however, after a VAR check showed no clear handball as the Panserraikos midfielder kept his arms to his body.
The first half concluded with statistics that very few would say fit a game between Malta and the Netherlands. The island nation finished the half with just three fewer attempts at goal than Oranje (5) and just as many as they recorded during the 8-0 defeat in June.
Restored order
Koeman sent his players out of the dressing room with attacking intent and saw the decision pay off immediately when Cody Gakpo doubled the Netherlands' lead in the 48th minute. Oranje were given another penalty after a foul from Pepe and saw Gakpo make no mistake from the spot yet again.
Manchester City star Tijjani Reijnders made it 3-0 ten minutes later after goalkeeper Henry Bonello was pressured into a bad pass, allowing Cody Gakpo to lay the ball off to Reijnders and let the midfielder score in an open net.
Much like the first half, however, the Netherlands took the foot off the throttle again, as only Denzel Dumfries and Memphis Depay came close to scoring a fourth after Reijnders' goal.
Oranje added a fourth after all in the third minute of injury time via all-time top scorer Memphis Depay, who headed in a rocket of a cross from Denzel Dumfries. It was the last bit of football played in Ta' Qali, where the Netherlands took home a 4-0 win.
The win gave Oranje sole possession of the top spot in group G, where Poland and Finland trail the Netherlands by three points. Finland will be Oranje's next hurdle when they come to Amsterdam this weekend to play the Netherlands at the Johan Cruyff ArenA on Sunday.
Check out all the match and player statistics on Flashscore.