2021 The Netherlands thread

https://www.trouw.nl/sport/manon-me...el~b19cdcde/?referrer=https://duckduckgo.com/



Feyenoord joins the women Eredivisie.

 

Interview with Wiegmans. Use google translate if interested:
https://www.ad.nl/nederlands-voetba...willen-wat-aan-speelwijze-toevoegen~aad32b0c/
Wiegman puzzelt richting Tokio: ‘We willen wat aan speelwijze toevoegen’

VideoDe contouren van het Oranje dat we op de Olympische Spelen gaan zien, worden steeds beter zichtbaar. ‘Nieuwe’ namen grijpen hun kans tussen de gearriveerde Leeuwinnen, die morgen in en tegen Spanje een oefenwedstrijd spelen.

Tim Reedijk 8 apr. 2021 Laatste update: 20:57


Wiegman puzzles towards Tokyo: "We want to add something to the way of play" The contours of the Orange that we will see at the Olympic Games are becoming increasingly visible. "New" names seize their chance among the arrived Lionesses, who will play a practice match in and against Spain tomorrow. Tim Reedijk Apr 8 2021 Last update: 20:57

 

https://www.ad.nl/nederlands-voetba...dan-laten-ze-zich-leiden-door-angst~ab2cb67c/
Wiegman about the search for her successor.

 

It sounds like the KNVB would like to hire another female Dutch coach to take over the national team but, based on what I read, there just aren't many viable candidates. One favorite is the current coach of the U19 women's team--I forget her name--but according to a article I read (in rough translation) She doesn't have a lot of coaching experience. But as the article pointed out, neither did Wiegman when she took over the squad.

There's a difference, though: Wiegman took over a young team that wasn't sure of its individual and group potential. Both the coach and players/team grew and blossomed together. The new coach won't have that luxury. S/he will be taking over a talented and veteran group that may not be so easy to manage. The players will want to be assured that the new coach knows what s/he's doing--and given the Dutch NT's success over the last three/four years, there will be high expectations, which Wiegman didn't have to face when she took the job. In short, Taking over the defending Euros champion and WC runnerup isn't going to be easy. It's an important hire.

 

Well, they could opt for her to be aided by Foppe de Haan, like he did with starting Wiegman.

 

KVNB should hire Louis van Gaal and make his assistant some raising but yet unexperienced women coach. One who will naturally take over him in 5-6 years (ie. for WWC 2027)

 

Montemurro? Ha, that would be interesting. He does like and play something close to the Dutch style, and he's got three Dutch starters on his Arsenal squad, and the players love the guy, so in some ways it would be inspired. But the KNVB seems to want to hire a Dutch woman--even though there are very few desirable female candidates. This dilemma may be why it's taken so long to name a successor. Montemurro's wife did not join him in London when he took the Arsenal job, and that's apparently been an issue for him. Someone also mentioned that his mother, who's also in Australia, has been ill, so I suspect he's headed back home. I do think the KNVB would be unwise to think that they next coach can be as lightly experienced as Wiegman was and get away with it. That kind of good fortune doesn't happen very often--even with a talented squad.

 

Yikes: What happened today? I wasn't surprised that Spain had more possession than the Dutch--but 69 percent to 31 percent? Good grief? 20 shots to 1? 7 SOG for Spain compared to 0--0!--for The Netherlands? Seven corners to 1 for the Dutch? Wiegman's women were completely bossed, by all accounts. I didn't see the game--just checked the stats--and can't imagine I will watch it as it sounds like the Dutch simply chased the ball around the pitch for 90 minutes. When's the last time the Dutch were humbled like this? I know Spain is good--a major comer, they've given the American NT as much or more trouble than anybody--but didn't expect this kind of beat-down.

I saw that Spain played a 3-5-2 against the Dutch tried-and-true 4-3-3. So with 5 midfielders, Spain perhaps had a tactical advantage in the center of the pitch. The Dutch may have been out-manned. I assume Roord and Martens came back and helped in the midfield a lot, especially as The Netherlands had so little of the ball--but if you're doing that as a wide forward you're playing differently than the way the the Dutch like to play. I can't say--but I'm eager to hear what others think was the big problem today. I mean, everybody knows that Spain are ball-control geniuses--only the Japanese are comparable--but we all expect more from Wiegman's squad than this disaster. The only positive I can take from it is that it will give The Netherlands more exposure to what they can expect from Japan should they have to play the home team in the upcoming Olympics. I don't think it will help much as the players are already quite familiar with how Japan (and Spain) play. They weren't surprised today, I assume--just beaten.

 

The Dutch simply couldn’t progress the ball under Spanish pressure. It didn’t help that the ref was calling fouls that weren’t fouls and making no calls on clear fouls.

A lot of Spain’s shots were low xG ones in my opinion. The ref waved off a clear penalty on Miedema in the 78th minute, van de Sanden somehow missed a big chance to score an equalizer on some quality buildup from the Dutch, and Patri may have been just offside on her goal. Absolute domination from Spain, but they maybe would have lost with a better ref and van de Sanden finishing her chance (potentially highest xG chance I’m guessing from either side).

 

Tks. I've started to watch and see D. Janssen playing right fullback. I've never seen her play on the right for the Dutch--always either left CB or left outside back--and from the jump she does not look comfortable on the right. Not sure how big an issue it was in the match--maybe nothing--but it's never a good thing to switch a player to a side h/she hasn't played in ages--even if Janssen is two-footed (or close to it). Wiegman did it because Wilms is hurt and out of these friendlies, which is too bad as she needs all the pre-Olympic matches she can get. A (translated) Dutch match report also mentioned that the Spanish goal-scorer was offside. We can't be surprised that Van de Sanden missed a good chance. Scoring has been one of her big issues: she been good for a long time at servicing Miedema and others in the box, but as a forward you also have to put the ball in the net and she struggles to do that. I read that it's been a tough 6+ months for her--not just losing her starting job with the NT but also losing her father.

 

I thought Miedema looked clearly frustrated with the contact right after that. It doesn’t look like Paredes got a touch on the ball to me, but regardless, she definitely made contact with her follow through, which was reckless. Honestly, it’s not worth much; I’ve seen so many poor highlight videos that leave out important plays.

 

I wonder if The Netherlands played Spain again in, say, 2 weeks if Wiegman would stick with a 4-3-3 and the same lineup. On its face it doesn't seem well-suited for a technical Spain side playing 5 in the midfield. Then again, maybe the Dutch just simply weren't ready to play. I'd certainly think hard about packing the midfield if I were playing Spain again--and maybe too against Japan. However, I can't remember Wiegman ever playing anything but the 4-3-3 except for the radical defensive formation she tried in the WC final.

 

"Simply disillusioned by that stage of the match and didn't bother anymore"
Yeah, I agree with this, and that probably applied to everyone.

Spain's a big fan favorite and like the media darling; at least that's the impression I get. They dominated the match playing football "the right way"; let's make little mention of Patri being questionably offside on her goal and no mention of Paredes riding her luck massively. This was just a friendly, but I'm going to be disappointed if we see officiating performances like that at the Olympics and Euros.

Edit: Then again, some of the pundits are just quite critical of the Dutch play and probably find it more useful to not talk about plays that suggest the Dutch were on the end of poor officiating. I definitely get being critical, but I also found the ref's performance to be quite frustrating throughout the whole match. So be it though.

 

The Dutch draw Brazil, Zambia and China in their Olympics group. That's about as good as The Netherlands could have hoped for. Brazil, which languished for a few years with mediocre play, was much improved in the World Cup and will be a tough opponent. China is athletic and could also be difficult if the Dutch are not at their best, but I hope the superior technical skills and tactics of The Netherlands will prove too much for the Asian squad. I know nothing about Zambia.