Depay to the rescue! Now don't make stupid mistake on our end anymore unless we can increase our lead....
I really hope Robben got (slightly) injured, because Berghuis in/Robben out cannot be heard. You can't simply substitute Robben. Otherwise Blind (Danny) should go to the hospital to seek care.
After Narsingh saving us against Latvia, we have Depay saving us against Luxembourg These are the players we need for the future
Still a lot of room to improve but I'm happy with the 3 points. The team is still a work in progress. Hope that Robben's injury not serious.
Koeman criticised the current selection policy of Danny Blind and wonders why Erik Pieters has been overlooked. Koeman said, “Of course, Blind’s choices become more limited, but I think there is also some good players that are not called, but who do belong there.” After naming Pieters, he added, “Playing every week for two or three years at Stoke City and he is doing just fine. What is the reason for not selecting that boy? Source - Footballoranje Maybe it is time to give Pieters a shot too! Brenet is 22 & can't defend - Clearly it is time to build the slot around Karsdorp & Tete. The winger situation should be okay with Robben, Promes, Depay & Narsingh (Depay needs to leave MU soon). If Bergwijn is good he will take a slot. The midfield is incredibly worrying & needs to be rebuild with players like Van de Beek & Nouri (Let's hope they get a break) - That is the worrying bit. Maybe Janssen can solve the ST issue!
Bulgaria defeated Belarus today. We are even with Sweden on points but ahead because of GD. Given the NT will win out the rest of the way, a 2-0 win over France at the Stade de France should be enough for the automatic qualifying berth. Of course a lot could go wrong but I'm pretty darn optimistic as we a lot of months for everyone to get healthy and back in form!! Maybe Mr. S's dream of van de Beek and Nouri being brought into the NT will happen (I think it is wishful thinking as neither one even is close to starting for Ajax).
Koeman is interested in bringing Depay to Everton. Would be a good way to get his career back on track!!
Um, Blind has selected Pieters before.. maybe Koeman needs to do a quick google check first haha Not that I rule Pieters out - but he also had a very poor start to this season, so not surprised to see him not called back over, say, Kongolo or Blind who were in good form. Last spring, Willems had come back into fitness (since has had chances and fallen out of favour), and van Aanholt was doing well. Weird thing to speak out on, the situation seems normal, no? (disappointing, haha, but normal) I do agree that our midfield is our biggest problem! Anyway, Blind says: Robben had physical complaints. Sneijder changed because we wanted to keep wider field.
No passing happening in the midfield, all kept very perimeter. So then only Blind able to find Dost.. Worrying against a side we "should" beat with more ease. Equal to, or more worrying, than the fact that we have only 1 clean sheet under Blind in 16 matches now?
Pieters sucks, he is almost like a LB version of Veltman. I'll always prefer a full back that isn't a good defender but can provide upfront rather than a full back that makes mistakes behind and cannot provide upfront...
If you have watched any Ajax matches this season you will know that Klaassen never gets any passes as his touch is quite poor. He also doesn't create space well at all.
I have, and I do. Strange way to put that, since I believe we have even discussed this together, but I agree. And from an Oranje perspective, this was only the second time in eight matches that we won a match with Klaassen in Blinds' starting lineup, the other one being versus Belarus in Oct.. Some other fun facts, courtesy of @OptaJohan: 12 - The Netherlands have failed to keep a clean sheet in 12 of their 14 competitive games since the 2014 World Cup. Leaks. 1 - @jeffreybruma is the first Netherlands player to play every single minute in a calendar year since Joris Mathijsen in 2009. Regular. 3 - Most chances created per 90 mins so far these Euro WC Qualifiers: Miralem Pjanic - 6.9 Quincy Promes - 5.4 Ilkay Gündogan - 4.8 Trio. 5 - Arjen Robben has now scored five goals in his last four games for the Netherlands. Essential. 3 - Only Vincent Janssen (5) has been involved in more goals for the Netherlands in 2016 than Memphis Depay (3 - 1 goal, 2 assists). Ace. 1 - Bas Dost has fired in just one shot on target in 252 minutes of play for the Netherlands in 2016 (0 tonight). Ghost. And I like this one from Michiel Jongsma: Some teams are better than the sum of their parts, this Dutch team together is currently about a quarter of their parts.
And also from @11tegen11: What do you do when you've *finally* managed to get the ball into Zone 14? Here's Holland's answer, get it to the flank & go for a cross!
It is completely the opposite of the Feyenoord play. Almost all our goals were made from inside the box.
A very mediocre win, but I think no one really expected a better performance. We are lucky to have 2 more easy games in a row. This should Improve our goal difference before facing France again. A tie between France and Sweden in the away game will be perfect for us.
Ha ha, I used to be optimistic like that. Good for you! Now I am just more realistic. We are lucky if we can get second and get in through playoff. We can also miss out this WC as well, and then maybe a revolution will happen at KNVB.