Netherlands boss Frank de Boer is pleased with the change of tactics and takes confidence away from the 1-1 draw in Italy.

De Boer lined Netherlands up in a 5-3-2, the formation that was so successful for Louis van Gaal in the 2014 World Cup. It worked well with Netherlands drawing 1-1 in Italy in a game they could have won.

After the match, De Boer told NOS, “As a coach, I have to see where the team can achieve the best result. I just have to look very rationally. What does the opponent give me and what can we do in return? Can we dominate? Plan B was just full throttle one-on-one play all over the field. Fortunately, that was not necessary, because that takes a lot of strength.”

De Boer says he was not afraid of the criticism that another defeat would have brought, “I’m one hundred percent sure that the reactions would not have been tender. But my feeling told me that I had to do this.”

De Boer isn’t totally satisfied though, “We cannot be satisfied, because we want to finish first in the group. But the way we did it tonight gave us confidence. When saying goodbye to the boys, who are all going back to their own club, I also said that if we can manage this, it will be very difficult for any opponent of ours, in whatever system. This gives a certain rest. Yes, we can now talk about things that are important to me again, football.”




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