Danny Blind is hoping his Netherlands side can save him from the history books when they face England on Tuesday at Wembley
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Since Blind took over from Guus Hiddink, Netherlands have lost four of their six matches, and one more defeat will see the coach make the worst start of any Oranje boss since the early 1950’s.
To avoid entering the history books, Blind’s side will have to improve greatly from the performance against France, which saw the Oranje completely outplayed in the first half at the Amsterdam Arena before going down 3-2. They will also have to contain a England side that showed great character to come back from 2-0 down to defeat Germany in Berlin on Saturday.
Blind admitted during his press conference on Monday that he was very impressed with Roy Hodgson’s side. He said, “It’s special when you are 2-0 down against Germany and win 2-3 in Germany, that’s very special,”
“There was a good spirit, and tactically, they have good pressure with the three up front to disturb the build-up from Germany, and they were successful.
“(Dele Alli) was very special. He’s a good player, technical, has a good shot, but he’s also aggressive, he will win a lot of tackles, so he’s a special player.”
On his own team, Blind admitted that they are in a rebuilding phase with a lack of top class players currently available, “Sometimes there are periods.
“Also in the 80s the Dutch team did not qualify for a couple of tournaments. That’s football.
“We have great players with Robben, van Persie, Huntelaar, de Jong, and Sneijder. Great players.
“The only thing we can do is bring in young players again and let them play in games so they can develop and become better players.”
Team News
Netherlands squad has been depleted by injuries in the run up to this game, with the likes of Robben, Sneijder, De Vrij, Cillessen, Janmaat, Vlaar, Strootman, and Klaassen all unavailable for the game, while Robin van Persie was left out of the squad.
Marco van Ginkel and Michael Vorm were called into the squad this week and could play a part, while Rick Karsdorp and Timo Letschert are still awaiting their debut’s.
Blind was cagey about his tactics in the press conference, stating they will either play 5-3-2 or 4-3-3 but didn’t know his starting line-up yet. Klaas jan Huntelaar is expected to start, while Daley Blind will captain the side in Robben and Sneijder’s absence.
Possible Netherlands line-up (4-3-3) Zoet, Veltman, Willems, Bruma, Blind, Bazoer, Afellay, Wijnaldum, Memphis, Promes, Huntelaar
England boss Roy Hodgson admitted in his press conference that he will make several changes to the side that beat Germany on Saturday, but Jack Butland will play no part after suffering an injury during that game. James Milner has been confirmed to start as well as Daniel Sturridge, while Leicester City midfielder Danny Drinkwater is hoping to make his debut.
Possible England line up: Forster, Walker, Rose, Stones, Jagielka, Drinkwater, Milner, Barkley, Walcott, Vardy, Sturridge
Past Meetings
Netherlands have a good recent record against England, with the last meeting between the two sides seeing the Oranje triumph 3-2 at Wembley in the tie which will be remembered for Klaas-jan Huntelaar’s header, which ended with him eating grass after a nasty collision with Chris Smalling.
You have to go back to the European Championships in 1996 when England dismantled Netherlands 4-1 for the last time the Three lions triumphed against the Dutch.
In 19 meetings, both sides have five wins each, while there has been nine draws.
Other Information
- A minute of applause will be held during the 14th minute for Johan Cruyff but the game is not expected to be paused
- Both sides will be debuting new kits during the game, with Netherlands showing off their new blue away kit, which can be seen below.
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