Netherlands will be without Cody Gakpo and Nathan Ake when they take on Turkey in Amsterdam on Tuesday night.
- Follow Football-Oranje on Twitter
Gakpo has started both the draw with Norway and the win over Montenegro, but the PSV Eindhoven winger has now been forced to pull out of the squad after picking up an injury.
Nathan Ake has not featured in either game and the Manchester City defender has left the camp due to personal reasons.
Louis van Gaal is currently preparing for the crucial World Cup qualifier against Turkey on Tuesday night. A victory for Netherlands would put them top of the group.
Follow
Follow @Footballoranje_ on Twitter
A thought occurred to me. Justin Timber should be playing as THE ORANJE MUCH NEEDED DEFENSIVE MIDFIELDER. HE IS A GREAT DEFENDER AND A GREAT PASSER AND HE CAN SHOOT FROM A DISTANCE.
Orange’s best formation against Turkey
By Rocky Mapaliey (Minahasa)
The Oranje will play at home at the Johan Cruyff Arena against leaders Turkey, who previously beat the Oranje 4-2 under coach Frank De Boer.
In the match to be played on Tuesday night, the Oranje lost 2 injured players: left winger Cody Gakpo & centre-back Nathan Ake. Both of these players have left the training center, leaving only 23 players. Coach Louis Van Gaal has not called a replacement for these two players.
Seeing the importance of this party, Oranje must appear with the best strength. There is no need to doubt the 4-3-3 formation because most of the Oranje players are very familiar with this formation.
In the previous 2 matches, the midfield was the main problem for the Oranje team. Frenkie De Jong seemed to be playing alone in midfield while Wijnaldum & Klaassen played less of a role in passing the ball to the front 3 which made striker Depay have to go down to midfield or to the left flank to get the ball. Wijnaldum & Klaassen mostly wait for the ball to mature both from the wings and from the middle to be able to score goals. So the role of the two as midfielders is actually less than optimal because they are less helpful in terms of defense and also do not supply the ball to the front lines, more precisely they play a role as second strikers. Apart from his goals, Wijnaldum did not see much of his role in the game as did Klaassen. As a solution in midfield, Louis Van Gaal had to place a controlling midfielder next to Frenkie De Jong who could assist the defense but could also provide the ball forward to supply the forwards with both long and short balls. The most suitable person for the position is Teun Koopmeiners, a player who has been underestimated by coach Frank De Boer who was never given the opportunity to play during the European Cup. Koopmeiners can also be an alternative to Memphis Depay to take free kicks and corners with the power of his left foot. Wijnaldum’s senior player in 10th position completes the midfield trio of Koopmeiners-Wijnaldum-F. De Jong. While Davy Klaasen could have come on in the 60th minute with his energy and passion he would make a fine substitute for the normally flat-footed Wijnaldum.
For the front lines, in the absence of Cody Gakpo, 1 position is vacant on the front lines. Based on 2 matches against Norway and Montenegro, a pure striker is needed as a target man who is also strong in the top ball so he can score goals in aerial duels both when passing from the flank and during corner kicks. The figure is in the profile of Wout Weghorst who scored 20 goals in the Bundesliga last season. With Gakpo out of the way, now is the time to give Weghorst a chance to perform as he proved to be hard working by scoring double-digit goals in 3 consecutive seasons in the Bundesliga. Memphis could fill Gakpo’s position on the left flank similar to the position he played at his club Barcelona. The right wing position was given to Berghuis who provided many key passes in the match against Montenegro and made the Oranje attack more varied, compared to Donyell Malen
For the back line, the duo of Van Dijk and De Vrij must be prioritized with a 4-3-3 formation while De Ligt, who was one of the causes of Oranje’s exit in the European Cup, may sit on the bench as a substitute. At left-back the young player Tyrell Malacia can be trusted again because he has speed both in defense and in assisting attacks. Coach Van Gaal had to be brave enough to put on the bench veteran Daley Blind who was slow and created a vulnerability in the team’s balance. As for right-back Dumfries’ position is unquestionable because the player who became the star of the Oranje at the European Cup, is currently the best in that position. For the position of goalkeeper still entrusted to Justin Bijlow
Hopefully the Oranje can take revenge with a convincing game and win against Turkey so they can top the standings and pave the way for qualifying for the Qatar World Cup
Thought the same about trying Ake as a defensive mid. His final ball into the box is actually quite good (timber i feel is still a little afraid to make forward passes) think Ake has the pace and on ball ability to free Frenkie and Gini to move further up field, additionally he’s a good aerial presence ( we have quite a few of those tbh)