Stand corrected. Edit: But I wonder if the burst of chances were linked to de Jong's endless ball round playing passing, being replaced by Timber's forwards drive.
You can feel that the roster is almost set with Koeman. I am not sure how Koeman evaluate players like Emegha, Valente, Steijn or Meerdink without giving them more playing times. I hope he sit/rest some of the senior players in friendly between now and World cup to see what other players can do and I hope for good quality opponents (Portugal, Germany, England or Norway). Verbruggen, Roefs, Flekken Dumfries Timber Van Hecke De Ligt Van Dijk Van De Ven (Geertruida, Ake, Hartman, Frimpong will be considered for the last 2 spots; I don't see Maatsen or Hato or De Vrij will be considered; I feel that Geertruida and Ake are favoured since they can play on the wing or in the center although I am concerned about Ake's form and fitness as he has not played much; I like Frimpong but I feel he will be the odd man out). Gravenberch De Jong Reijnders Kluivert Schouten (Q. Timber, Valente, Koopmeiners, Steijn, Wieffer will be considered for the last spot) Gakpo Memphis Malen (I think Xavi and Lang will take 2 spots, leaving Emegha and Weghorst for the last spot which I lean towards Emegha; if excel Meerdink and Brobbey excel may be considered).
Decent ending in Oranje’s final World Cup Qualifier yesterday getting the 4-0 result. It was pretty much one way traffic as expected and goals from Reijnders Gakpo Xavi and Malen setup a nice post match celebration for all the players and Oranje fans. All was pretty good last night with the exception of our All Time Leading Goalscorer Memphis lwho played more like a False 9 it seemed, but added nothing but bad touches and decisions on the ball. A couple of changes were Timber was moved to RB, De Ligt came in at RCB, and Ake came in for Van de Ven at LB. All were solid joining Captain Virgil last night in aiding Bart who picked up the clean sheet. Reijnders was the 8 in place of Gravenberch, and played very well I thought. He is a World Class player as a Box to Box 8, and that is where Koeman MUST play him in that role. Xavi Simons was at the 10 for the injured Justin Kluivert, and showed better work rate which is important for him, but he seems to have problems physically, and making better decisions on the ball. That said he didn’t quite take his chance to solidify himself for that Playmaker/#10 position although he did score an outstanding goal. Frenkie at 6 does what he does in keeping possession moving the ball between the lines like no other. I thought Gakpo and Malen both played very well last night and Malen’s was high quality with the touch, run, and finish. My criticism of Koeman last night was not giving more minutes for Emegha who looked lively, and debutant Valente who has some excellent playmaking ability to showcase, but not nearly eniugh enough of a runout last night in my opinion. Other second half subs were Q. Timber, Lang, and Geertruida (Why play this guy). In any case I’m looking forward to seeing what the team, and tactics of Koeman will be once the Tournament starts in June. I am sure no one will want to face Oranje who have lots of quality and depth in talent.
81529 Koeman wasted 90 minutes by playing Depay in the first place and worse, not subbing him of in the first half already, because Memphis proved again he's not up to the task anymore. It was obvious against Poland, but RoNoClueman sees it differently and refused to play Emegha for the whole match. So now we have Depay for about 70 minutes showing he doesnot fit in, while we should have been watching the one who should be on the way to the WC in the USA.
Sad but true it simply comes down Koeman Loves Memphis, and vice versa. Despite our questions, concerns, and problems with Koeman he has built a lot of harmony within the selection going back to his first run as Manager, and I believe he has good man management skills. I’m very curious to see the 26 players that Koeman selects for the tournament because there are definitely questions that need to be answered before the end of the season so form and fitness is critical. I firmly believe Oranje have a great chance to do big things at this World Cup as they have a lot of talent, and quality depth, but like I said before there are questions that need to be answered, but that also applies to every other team. There is no team to fear, and no World beaters like 1970 Brazil to play so I’m confident that we can realistically have great success come June & July. I also believe that any potential opponents of Oranje will NOT look forward to facing us so our confidence should be high.
81682 Koeman has to realize this is his last shot for eternal glory. We have the best stacked defense, we have the best stacked midfield, we have a meh attacking line depth. Our wingers are still above about those of 38 of the 46 countries, but our striker proves with every match closer to the WC, he can't deliver anymore. So RoNoClueman, what choice do you make? Stick with the one most likely incapable of scoring the goals and making the team play walking football, or the one who makes the team dynamic. It's the choice between not making a chance against the countries in the knock out rounds or making those countries fear us, because we put a player in the striker position our wingers and our midfielders actually can pass a ball to in the box.
81855 In one of the articles about the coming WC it was mentioned this could be the first WC without a player from Ajax in the selection. I wonder how realistic this is.
Gulp.. Koeman will take a back-up striker who can be his "pinchitter" -- playing in the final few minutes of the game to chase goals or defend the aerial balls. Sounds like an ideal job description for Weghorst, and he certainly had the experience doing so (see v. Argentina in WC 2022). While I am very excited and hopeful about Emegha, unfortunately and realistically, I think he is in the outside lane at the moment. He won't have enough time to integrate with the rest of the team with only two friendly matches scheduled ahead of the WC. That said, if he bags a lot (I mean, A LOT) of goals in the remainder of the season, he could make Weghorst sweat. I'd say Emegha scores 20+ goals (he has 6 so far, last year he had 14), he would be hard to ignore!! Watch out for Guus Til, as well.. he has limited skills (not exactly my favorite!) but is very opportunistic in front of the net. I don't think his current form (6 goals is last 6 matches) is sustainable -- but he's definitely forcing himself into relevance.
Weghorst is truly pathetic. So slow and feet of an elephant makes me sick watching him. I cannot say this enough, but that a man of his limited ability plays at Ajax shows how far my clubs standards are currently. JC14 turns in his grave.
I think it is time for Koeman to drop Weghorst and Ake for Emegha and Hartman. Koeman’s loyalty drives me nuts sometimes. This World Cup also maybe Van Dijk last tournament if his play doesn’t improve.
I’m all for Weghorst never playing again for Oranje and that must happen, with other younger and better options than him. Nathan Ake has always been an important & solid player with lots of experience, and has the capability of playing in different tactical systems and positions. The past couple of years has seen him deal with some injuries, but he’s still an important player and highly rated by Pep Guardiola. Only 30 years old too. I’m also for Hartman if he’s fit, and he’s a natural leftback who I would prefer over Hato or Maatsen.
You are correct, and it’s certainly a concern. I think he will get more time with City involved in multiple competitions.
He is definitely not fit and rusty. He played today and was at fault for the second goal of Leverkusen.
Great movement by Schick to be fair on the goal where he runs behind Ake then cuts in front as ball gets delivered. Ake was pretty good in the match I thought. Poku played full match for Leverkusen and was clocked as the fastest man on the pitch.
83525 Six Dutchmen in Top 100 of The Athletic on their way to the World Cup. The Athletic, part of The New York Times, has published a Top 100 of the best players we can expect to see at the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada. Six players from the Dutch national team are included in that ranking. The (obviously) arbitrary Top 100, as The Athletic itself indicates in the justification of the creation, appears to have been compiled on the basis of five criteria. The Americans have looked at the current form of players, their historical performances, the value for their national team, the transfer value and the rating in the game FC26. The top three is formed by not entirely surprising names. Kylian Mbappé is seen as the best player in the world to go to the World Cup. 'It sometimes feels like we take the quality of Mbappé for granted. He scored in the past two World Cup finals (including a hat-trick in the 2022 edition) and is still the man France is built around. The French are among the favorites for the 2026 World Cup and he will still be their decisive man," writes The Athletic. Second place is taken by Erling Haaland, who will make his debut with Norway at a final tournament, and in third place we find Lamine Yamal. The top five is completed by Harry Kane and Pedri. Reigning world champion Lionel Messi is eighth and Cristiano Ronaldo is number 25 on the list. There are also six Dutchmen in the ranking. Virgil van Dijk is the highest regarded with an eleventh place. 'The Netherlands has perhaps the best defenders of the World Cup and the heart of the defense is Van Dijk', the Americans say. Frenkie de Jong is in 36th place. Among them are Cody Gakpo (52), Ryan Gravenberch (57), Tijjani Reijnders (80) and Xavi Simons (84).