Qatar World Cup - Oranje Victory to Come!

Even though we’re winning 2-0 we look so unconvincing. So much open space, we’re lucky Qatar is probably the worst team in this tournament. We won’t get away with this against decent teams, not to mention the best teams.

As long as we keep scraping by van Gaal will look like a genius though.

 

Show us the replay on that corner not given please!
And how tf was this a yellow for Ake?!

this has been some shady shit. We’re lucky the quality difference is huge because this ref is gunning for Qatar hard it’s wildly clear.

 

That looks like his plan for me. Winning by boring and efficient football rather than attractive exciting football (perhaps the quality players besides Frenkie and Virgil and Gakpo are not there). Depend on who is the opponent in the round of 16, we all know the real test is the quarter final if this team can get there.

 

Ake has been one of the few players to perform, so he is given a yellow (for a suspension later on in the tournament)

Obvious stuff indeed

 

Wtf another one to deny a huge chance! Also no call on Frenkie. This is insane… it’s honestly undeniable, this needs to be talked about after the game! It’s NL vs Qatar + ref!

 

Berghuis and Janssen are you serious Van Gaal? It’s 2-0 show some balls and play Simons and/or Lang!

 

Simply embarrassing. Having so much young, dynamic and attacking talent on the bench and playing with these old, slow and dull players.

Even if we somehow make it far in this tournament I hope van Gaal is gone after this. Can’t take his player selection approach anymore.

Edit: Another perfect example. Has Lang and Xavi on the bench but he subs in Janssen. So infuriating.

 

Why even select these players if you’re not even going to give them a chance at the perfect opportunity. Leading 2-0 vs Qatar, the worst team in this tournament. Smh. So done.

 

I agree with you. Van Gaal likes to rotate between Bergwijn, Memphis and Janssen (1 spot reserved for Gakpo) and between Berghuis and Klaassen. It does not look like we will see Simons or Lang. I hope Koeman change this, I really do. Use Nations League to test out players, especially young promising players like Simons, Frimpong, Botman....What a stubborn coach!

 

Why not Simon for Frenkie and Lang for Gakpo around 80 min? Let the 2 best players rest for round of 16. Maybe Frimpong for Dumfries as well?

 

Simons is apparently one of the best in training... but not used

 

Janssen being a total meme out there. Smh.

 

Who’d want to see him if we can see Klaassen and de Roon…

 

Wtf Weghorst and Koopmeiners is this a joke?!

 

It’s official. He just hates the kids. No other explanation.

 

Zzzzzzzzzzzzz why not just try Simons and Lang this game? Give them some minutes to get over their WC jitters so you have them ready if needed in the knockout phase. These subs were horrible, I always trusted in Van Gaal but this was rough. I mean if he shit plays us to a WC win like Portugal or Greece of the EC, ok….. but come on

 

Janssen and Weghorst up front? Janssen is my vote for the worst Dutch player on the pitch. Why don't they just keep crossing into the Qatar's box for those 2 strikers? 1 sub left, might as well throw in Luuk.

 

Greece in 2004 was way more solid

 

Was the last attack ball on the right side in injury time intended for Janssen or Dumfries? Janssen will not get to those through ball, maybe Lang, Gakpo, Dumfries or Danjuma, but no way Janssen can get to that ball.

 

Embarrassing Van Gaal is a fool.
Klaassen De Roon can’t pass.
No wide play 90 minutes again for Blind and Dumfries.
Attack Janssen and Weghorst is ugly.
Going home soon is just so sad and pathetic.
Anti Football against shite team.
I hope Koeman will play football upon his return this is just awful.

 

The attack either is in the middle where Klaassen will link up with Memphis and Gakpo (or Bergwijn or Janssen) or crossing in, and so far relying on Gakpo being hot. There is no through ball on the wing. So far this team is not impressive in set piece either. I am not sure if this team can play from behind as it seems to me that it is built to play a slow tempo, like a chess game, nothing like Brazil, France, Spain, England or Portugal games that are seen so far. I'm sure whoever the opponent is will pay attention to Gakpo and Frenkie.
An optimistic view is that the team is saving the best for the knock out round. It needs others to step up besides Gakpo and Frenkie. Unimpressive but gets the results. Too bad Van Gaal would not even try players like Simons, Lang or Frimpong when having a 2-0 lead against probably the worst team (no wonder they host the World Cup cause they are not good enough to qualify; I would question how they win the Asian Cup). It is a shame!

 

No proactive running off the ball, no clever passing, tempo is so slow and just lacking quality from the wing backs once again and midfield has no fluidity with Klaassen and De Roon who can’t pass forward at all.
Frenkie gets forward a little so De Roon to cover but he’s awful with the ball.
This anti-football against this horrible side is just very disappointing and hard to watch.
Cannot listen to Van Gaal.

 

The advanced stats from this game passing wise are interesting.... Blind with tons of passing. He had by far the most passes into final third. Davy zero link up anywhere. Best ball progression from 3 CBs-- basically just jogging forward.

de Jong a bunch of times got the ball at/near box and just immediately passed it backwards. It's why his passing threat numbers have such a heavy negative score.

Qatar was really awful- as was the whole group.

I can't stand the way van Gaal manages but let's be honest- this isn't exactly a talented team. Next opponent US (I hope) would be interesting. If US had a competent manager, they'd rip apart Dutch on counter attacks with Weah, Reyna, Aaronson and CP.

Netherlands 2 : 0 Qatar

▪ xG: 1.63 - 0.21
▪ xThreat: 1.41 - 0.97
▪ Possession: 62.9% - 37.1%
▪ Field Tilt: 69.6% - 30.4%
▪ Def Line Height: 56.3 - 38.2#msbot_wc pic.twitter.com/nSzgwOyOnK

— markstats bot (@markstatsbot) November 29, 2022

 

I didn't mind De Roon... he allowed Frenkie to push forward and attack more. And obviously he was rewarded with the second goal. Frenkie would not have been the first to the rebound had he played deeper like he did in the previous two matches. Except for that one lazy pass in the opening minutes, De Roon did just fine. He was there to break the opponent's plays (he wasn't mean to ignite the attack). Statistically, per Fotmob, De Roon had the most successful tackles and recoveries in the match. Had a couple interceptions. Won 80% of ground duels. Solid shift for a DM. Let's face it... from this point on, De Roon would be needed in the knockout stage. LVG had this pre-determined, as the level of opposition will be higher, and there is very little margin of error. I think it's good that he (and Frenkie) got to acclimated with their roles.

Klaassen is the most polarizing player. Frustrating to watch. Slow, no creativities and no abilities to impact the game. But then, if you were LVG, by putting Klaassen, you essentially hedge that there would be one single lucky moment when he breaks loose, and either assists or scores. That bet paid off today (and v. Senegal). It didn't v. Ecuador. It's a high-risk, high-return gamble. Most days you will be okay, but someday you will be burned.

With Frenkie played higher, Memphis had an outlet for one-two and he didn't look too isolated. Still not his usual self, sloppy and tentative at times. He has another gear to switch on, and he has a few days to gain his sharpness.

Three CB's were just toying around and in cruise control the whole match. Blind was decent. Dumfries didn't seem to break from his funk yet. He was playing out of control.

Subs were terrible, especially the pinball machine Janssen. He was unbelievably bad, I think (hope) this was the last time seeing him in the tournament.

 

Fortunate that the result from the other match didn’t require more goals than two!