For those who don't understand the Dutch raters giving de Vrij positive numbers: Thea t Italian paper gives the Orange Squad these ratings:
I dont know why everyone is so negative. I thought we played pretty well. We shouldve won that game if it wasnt for the ref
ESPN reminded me that a similar incident and call happened in the 2022 WC when Ecuador were denied a goal close to halftime against the Dutch. In that case Noppert had dived the wrong way but the goal was still ruled out because of offsides. Just points out that this type of call can break both ways.
We are assured of minimum 3rd place, and these are different teams we can meet (it looks like it probably will be Portugal or Turkey). https://www.voetbalprimeur.nl/nieuw...ales-dit-zijn-de-mogelijke-tegenstanders.html
I don't understand Koeman sometimes. He tried Gertruida Frimpong combo that works well, then tried Dumfries Frimpong, then Geertruida Dumfries which did not work well at all. It is like he does not have a plan in this important match, throw things at the wall and see what sticks. I also hope to see the same starting 11 with the exception of Malen and Brobbey/Zirkzee to start in place of Frimpong and Memphis. Use Geertruida/Frimpong in 2nd half if needed.
I think most likely scenario is oranje finishing second, right? So that means runner up from the Belgium, Romania, etc group.
I’m telling you he thought about Geertruida but had to come to his better senses after witnessing how poor he was against France in both qualifiers. Amazingly he still subbed him on and Geertruida looked afraid of the ball and passed it backwards constantly. Hopefully now Koeman figures out that Xavi is a 10. Finally figured out Blind can’t play, and needs to come to the same conclusion about Gini and now Memphis.
I am not so optimistic. I think France have the inside track, especially if they get Mbappe back. They can rack up nice GD against Poland. Keep in mind that Poland have already been eliminated, and have nothing to play for in the final match, they may as well field their B-team and give minutes to their less-experienced (young) players. Meanwhile, Oranje have a difficult task scoring against a well-disciplined and highly motivated Austria team (who are within distance to qualify as well!) I think a second-placed finish is a more likely outcome for Oranje, and that means they will be up against the second finisher in Group E (which is a mess at the moment… Belgium is leading Romania, and they hold on, every team in the at group will have three points).
Indeed. France definitely have the much easier route to first place in this group. Is it weird that I want to draw Belgium? I’d like to see where we stand against them after they had their spell of golden generation. They have some pretty talented attackers in Doku and Trossard. Lukaku is an enigma but can do serious damage on his day. Of course there’s a certain de Bruyne who’s still one of the best midfielders in football. Their absolute weak point is their defense and the inexplicable absence of Courtois.
600031 Netherlands player ratings vs France: Xavi Simons robbed! VAR denies Dutch scrappy Euro 2024 win over Les Bleus as disappointing Memphis Depay sparks concern with another anonymous display Story by Richard Mills • 23h • 3 min read France and the Netherlands played out the first goalless draw of Euro 2024 in a disappointing heavyweight clash on Friday. In a match that was one of the most eagerly anticipated of the group stage, this contest turned into something of a damp squib. The Dutch were set up for counter-attacks and were restricted to a handful of fleeting attacking forays, whereas the French - who chose not to play Kylian Mbappe after breaking his nose - had much of the ball but didn't create many clear-cut chances. For Didier Deschamps' side, Antoine Griezmann went closest but failed to convert several close-range chances and for Ronald Koeman's men, Simons was denied what looked like a goal after a lengthy VAR review as Denzel Dumfries was adjudged to have interfered with goalkeeper Mike Maignan. In the end, neither side could be separated as they all but secured progression to the last 16 of the competition. GOAL rates Netherlands' players from Red Bull Arena... Goalkeeper & Defence Bart Verbruggen (7/10): Was alert to keep out an Antoine Griezmann's piledriver and then denied the little Frenchman just after the hour mark with a spread-eagled stop. Denzel Dumfries (5/10): Was caught out on a couple of occasions in the first half and offered very little both in attack and defence. The right-back is said to want to join a Premier League team but won't get many suitors off the back of this display. Stefan de Vrij (6/10): Had a good tussle with Marcus Thuram and held his own against the striker but was bailed out a couple of times by team-mate Virgil van Dijk. Virgil van Dijk (7/10): Nothing got past him early doors, but Thuram's neat backheel bamboozled him and nearly led to a goal. Was given a different dilemma when the wily veteran Olivier Giroud came on and kept him honest. Nathan Ake (7/10): Had the measure of right-back Jules Kounde when he got forward but the pacey Ousmane Dembele kept him on his toes. Midfield Jerdy Schouten (5/10): The most functional of the Dutch midfielders. Didn't break up play particularly well and may be lucky to start in the next game. Tijjani Reijnders (7/10): Made some vital covering work in the first half and relieved pressure with some driving runs from deep in his own half. Xavi Simons (7/10): Enjoyed a few turnovers in France's half but his execution in the final third was poor early on. However, he improved as the game wore on and was unlucky to have a goal chalked off. Attack Jeremie Frimpong (6/10): His blistering pace caused problems to France's backline but didn't get enough opportunities to wreak havoc. Memphis Depay (5/10): Was very wasteful in possession and with his distribution to start and that didn't improve as the encounter progressed. A disappointing night for the ex-Barcelona man. Cody Gakpo (7/10): The Liverpool ace looked a threat cutting in on the left and running at defenders but was perhaps underused on the night. Got back to do his defensive duties, too. Georginio Wijnaldum (6/10): Certainly offered more in midfield in his short cameo than Schouten did. Wout Weghorst (6/10): Brought on to try and grab a winner but made a great defensive block deep into second-half stoppage time. Joey Veerman (6/10): Added a bit more solidity in the middle of the park. Lutsharel Geertruida (N/A): A late introduction. Ronald Koeman (7/10): Went for a more attacking lineup by bringing in Frimpong for Joey Veerman and set his side up to get men behind the ball and then hit France on the counter, which was moderately successful. May have been the happier of the two managers. .
Ratings for the Poland match: https://www.caughtoffside.com/2024/06/16/poland-1-2-netherlands-player-ratings-gakpo-weghorst/ Netherlands Bart Verbruggen – 7/10 – Made a couple of important saves as Poland kept on pushing. Denzel Dumfries – 7/10 – Provided great attacking thrust down the right for the Netherlands, with the only issue being the space he left behind, although that was probably under instruction from Ronald Koeman. Stefan de Vrij – 9/10 – Put in an imperious defensive performance with a match-high four tackles, as well as winning all seven of his combined aerial and ground duels. Shut down Polish counter-attacks all afternoon. Virgil van Dijk – 7/10 – A little flat-footed for the Poland goal, although Buksa wasn’t his responsibility. Very solid otherwise. Nathan Ake – 8/10 – Very often a functional player for Manchester City, Ake was a dynamic presence down the left for the Netherlands. Created four chances, including the one for Weghorst’s winner. Joey Veerman – 6/10 – Was slow in following Buksa for the Poland goal, but made up for it with some slick and tidy play. Just faded out of the game in the second half. Tijjani Reijnders – 6/10 – Busy and dynamic, but lacked some composure in breakthrough moments. Jerdy Schouten – 7/10 – Put in the sort of steady performance that made him a vital player in PSV’s Eredivisie-winning side last season. Tidy on the ball and hard-working without it. Xavi Simons – 7/10 – Worked incredibly hard and used his pace to good effect to keep the Polish defence worried, but lacked the finishing touch and composure to decide the game. Memphis Depay – 6/10 – Showed several flashes of the brilliance we know he’s capable of but very much played the back-up role as Gakpo ran the Dutch attack. Especially in the first half. Cody Gakpo – 8/10 – “Gakpo looks fit and confident. He is positive with his runs and is getting in good areas,” Danny Murphy told BBC One of Gakpo. Murphy was spot on, with the Liverpool man completing the most dribbles (4) of any player in the match, as well as winning the most fouls (4) and duels (14). Gakpo was electric and fully deserved his goal, with a winning contribution the only missing piece as he faded toward the end. Substitutes: Donyell Malen (62′, for Simons) – 7/10 – Stepped up the pace when he came on with his direct dribbling and skill. Georginio Wijnaldum (62′, for Veerman) – 5/10 – Didn’t really get into the game. Jeremie Frimpong (81′, for Gakpo) – 5/10 – Wasn’t on long enough to shine like he does for Bayer Leverkusen. Wout Weghorst (81′, for Depay) – 8/10 – Wasn’t on the field for long either, but didn’t need long to make the difference as he delivered the win with his first touch of the match. Micky van de Ven (87′, for Ake) – 6/10 – Came on late and made a couple of clearances.
He is too loyal to certain players even these players way past their primes. At midfield the options on the bench are Wijnaldum, Veerman, Gravenberch and Blind. Not so good when 2/3 of starting midfield is not available and not enough options available due to injuries. Up front he has Brobbey, Zirkzee, and Weghorst (which is better as a sub later in game). He should send a message for accountability by benching Memphis, give him motivation to be better. Starting spot should be earned, not entitled.
BTW -- Portugal have already secured top spot in Group F after two wins. They will presumably cruise an easy assignment in R16 with one of the third-place finishers, and then they will face Oranje in the QF, should Oranje finish second-place in the group and win their R16. Spicy rematch!! But let's not get ahead of ourselves --- Austria on Tuesday first!
Im not gonna waste my time and look straight on the aftermath of euro and WC 26. Even if the dutch scrap through to later stages. It is what it is, no matter with frenkie or koopmeiners the dutch lack the cutting edge and what I mean by this, the approach and basically how they play. They simply cant go through middle channels and resort to lateral passing to force wide spaces and look for those overhead balls, frenkie,veerman etc. this works perfectly vs average teams but come more composed and competitive ones it basically becomes tatical battle and scrappy affairs with nothing constructive to see. At most flashes of individual skills or trademark moves. Gakpo cutting inside, frenkie turning etc Not wasting much time I will say this. Xavi is the future of dutch football and the team shud be built around him and not anyone else and not even frenkie. There is certainly few deficiencies and like I said left footers in the team and this is where the coaches who ever it is shud make those calls by selecting them and looking at different options. You looks at Simons vs france,firstly whe he scored that disallowed goal,he was in around the position where sneijder use to hit those rocket shot goal. This is Why imo he shud play in that sneijder role or in that point back midfield where in that upper left quadrant to drift in. at Leipziq he plays as left AMF in 4-4-2 where he license to roam around on the left flank and on counters where he is absolutely determintal linking up with forwards in attack. Being said this you cant have gakpo and simons or lang or sumerville or any one cutting inside from the left playing together with simons. They simply will be encroaching each others space. You look at the france game, Simons was starved of possession because the dutch were not using the middle channels and had to drift out to come into the game clogging with gakpo space. Which ever way you wanna see it, either you have a winger who can go out,left footed preferably giving Simons more options when he drifts out or like I said have simons play sneijder role on the left flank with a 9 and 10 as a shadow striker so when Simons cuts in from that left flank, he has two strikers he can service. Just an example. Zirkzee Simons- depay- stengs CM———-CM And With offensive fullbacks maatsen and frimpong. I have just taken stengs as an example because he is left footed but it has to be somebody more comptent and hopefully by 26 the likes of chong, addai, kluivert( dual), or anybody can provide a different alternative or option to the current availability. Being said this, its good too see that now dutch players are playing competitively abroad and this surely will boost the NT and given the current depth and quality in the backline if the same can be in most departments im sure the dutch will be power house soon. In DM set up LW- zirkzee- RW Simon- AM —–DM—– Maatsen- CB- CB- Frimpong Gk In sneijder role Zirkzee simons- ST- LW Frenkie- CM Maatsen- CB- CB- frimpong Gk On another note if Simons would have been in the current Spain team he would have exploded. I’m not saying Fabian Ruiz is not good but basically that is the set up that Simons needs to get the very best out of him.
Hopefully Xavi remains at the 10 as he certainly shows his quality better in that position. Whoever plays in attack will need to vary their runs and movement to avoid the potential getting in the way of each other. The other day Memphis was so poor in every aspect that it stranded the likes of Frimpong and Gakpo out wide, and Xavi through the middle as they had no combination or link play from Memphis. France also was loaded up defensively limiting the spaces between the lines. It also was not helping that Oranje possession play was too slow, but that should change with Xavi getting on the ball and dictating the play. Not sure about Frimpong at Right Back though as he seems perfectly suited for that wide attacking role from the right, but again who knows? Maatsen has lots to prove as far as I’m concerned both defensively and physically so let’s see what happens next for him after his move to Aston Villa. Prospects for future success is always looking good for Oranje who generally continue to produce new talents. Don’t forget Bart Verbruggen in Goal who has a lot of potential and quality.