Pre-match: 2022–23 UEFA Nations League

Some critics are saying his holding up when on the ball was excellent and hence he can be important.

 

Does anyone know why Gravenberch is not in the team? I felt he was pretty bad the last times but I'd still like to see him tried a few times. Koopmeiners for me also wasn't totally it.

And was Danjuma injured? Too bad Karsdorp And Frimpong are injured too, because Hateboer just isn't it.

 

In 90% of the situations this penalty is not called and the VAR will let it go I think. Not a big enough error.

That being said though, the penalty of the Poland game was very fortunate and I doubt whether every VAR team will spot this. It were not the Oranje players making a shout.

 

He cannot make a half decent shot or finish. His hold-up play is allright.

 

- I like what I see with Lang and Gakpo in this match. If they can be consistent, actually if the whole team can be consistent, we will be good to go deep.
- I don't like what I see with Hateboer and Teze so no more call up this year please. Please call up Karsdorp in September. Timber cannot play RB.
- I don't see anything that earns a call back for BMI. I'm ok with VVD, De Ligt, De Vrij, Ake and Timber as CB.
- Despite the penalty, I still prefer Malacia over Blind as starting LB.
- Cillessen and PK, nothing new.
- Don't make Memphis captain anymore.
- I don't understand De Ligt (in this game) and Blind (last game) on the goals. Should they challenge (I don't mean to tackle)/approach the opponent (so you can block better) rather than back it up? Perhaps their timing are not great like VVD and afraid to give away PK (mentally)? Again the shot wen through the defender's legs.
- Team needs to lock down/defend the lead better and be more consistent in September leading to the WC.
- It seems that LVG like 5-3-2 or 3-5-2 or 3-4-3 whatever you call it. If this team can play 4-3-3 with Danjuma, Memphis, Gakpo up front, FDJ, Lang, Koop in the middle, Malacia, VVD, De Vrij, Dumfries in the back...it'd be exciting.....

 

Mindless decision thanks to Chief Scout Blind who sold this bill of goods to Van Gaal.
Just made no sense to bring him in and play a match over Weghorst today who deserves the run out in my opinion.

 

Gravenberch fell out of favor based on his uninspiring performances for Oranje I guess, but his potential is very big and certainly Bayern Munich think so.
Hoping he does well there and gets brought back into the Full Oranje over the likes of Klaassen, and Til who are not good enough.
Wijnaldum needs to be brought back as he adds experience, leadership, and tactical flexibility certainly over Davy and Til.
Karsdorp and Frimpong both injured so Hateboer comes in but sadly for him cannot replicate his form at Atalanta.
Danjuma too was injured and that was a shame as he had a great season with Villarreal and was ready to step up for Oranje in my opinion.

 

I totally agree with you on all of this, but I don’t think we will see Lang in MF but Memphis in the hole as # 10 could happen as he likes to drop in a lot as it is.
Big question marks will be who is in Goal either Cillessen or Bijlow, Flekken is 3rd.
Blind who’s inability to run or defend is clearly a problem for everyone, but LVG and Daddy is totally ineffective when pressured to put in a good pass or cross which is his strength won’t likely be given space so he could flop badly.
He’s not good enough!
Klaassen who does not always start at Ajax plays in the middle of the park with no cutting edge, and hardly ever contributes any quality passing or skill, but has scored with his runs into the box a couple of times.
Cannot continue seeing him when much better alternatives are Gini Wijndalum who brings leadership, tactical flexibility, and experience, or Ryan Gravenberch who hopefully gets to another level at Bayern Munich, but has good technical ability and can run and pass the ball.
Perhaps Donny at ManU finds his way with the help of Ten Hag?
I also don’t think Berghius is good enough as a 10 for this level.
Another guy who fails when pressed or closed down.
At least it appears LVG figured out that he’s not a winger.
Oranje are very much in the mix here, and there is a great opportunity to do some real damage in a few months time.
No more time to waste or unnecessary screwing around by LVG with picking guys like Janssen, Teze, Martins Indi, or Clasie.

 

My takeaways from these glorified friendlies, a.k.a. Nations League....

First, Virgil Van Dijk is the heart and soul of the defense. Duh! We all knew this. But the last three games really made that point. He went on vacation, and hell broke loose! Obviously VVD is one the best CD's in the world from skills standpoint, but he also brings leadership, organization, charisma, confidence, experience, etc. Without VVD, the defense was very frantic and had too many meltdowns costing goals. And his build-ups (long passes) were sorely missed. De Vrij, De Ligt and Ake were a big drop off from VVD. Somehow Virgil has got to stay healthy and sharp for Oranje to have any chance going deep in the WC (see Euro 2020/21).

Second, Frenkie de Jong needs to positioned further up the field. I didn't think Koopmeiners had his best game today (he was okay), but indirectly, he did all the blocking-and-tackling and allowed Frenkie to be on the ball a lot. OTOH, if it was Berghuis playing, Frenkie would have to sit back, and he wouldn't be able to impact the game as much.

Third, the last ~20 mins (when Memphis and Bergwijn entered) was a pretty nice display of attacking flow. This should be the way to go! I would rather see Memphis sits in a hole, than Klaassen. Gakpo is a stud, he is direct and fast. I think, with a better understanding, there could have been one or two more goals. Gakpo and Bergwijn had opportunities to pass the ball to open men, but both rather selfishly chose to shot. Lang (and eventually Danjuma) are also great assets playing in a "free" forward role. Weghorst is a pinchitter, coming from the bench when needed. No more Janssen for me. Oh - shout out as well to Dumfries, who went to the byline a lot and practically played as a right winger. Love his energy and passion that he brings!

 

Wout or Luuk can do same job. We only need one lump on the bench as an option.

think these games should we’ve got good attitude and can deal with pace on the break. Squad still needs a bit of tuning though

edit- are we saying no space for Malen in Qatar?

 

I was pleased to see Lang and Gakpo kept running and creating space for themselves and other teammates. Jansen is ok if you need someone to hold up the ball upfront for Memphis or Berwign. Memphis does not is not good at doing this focal . But now the forward selection becomes a headache for LVG when Danjuma and Malen return to fitness. To me, I still prefer Donny to Klassen and I will also include Gravenbach and Wildnadum. No more Hateboer or Teze, please.

 

Reportedly V. Janssen is heading back to Europe to play for Royal Antwerp (coached by Van Bommel). No more tamales!

 

Such a relief to have a guy with speed out there defending.....

 

I think you're probably right. My first thought was that the ball was already gone at the moment when Malacia made contact with the Wales player's head. So it didn't affect the play. However, it was a foul, and it was in the box. So a PK is justified.