Netherlands slumped to a poor 1-0 defeat to Mexico in Frank de Boer’s first game in charge. Michael Bell takes a look at the Oranje players and provides his ratings.
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Tim Krul 5.5/10: Looked shaky in the first half with his distribution and gave the ball back to Mexico on countless occasions. Did make an excellent save in the second half. Could not keep out the penalty.
Hans Hateboer 5/10: Hateboer just cannot recreate his Atalanta form for the Netherlands. Looked shaky throughout and gave Mexico a great chance early on. A poor performance.
Owen Wijndal 6/10: Apart from one shaky moment, Wijndal did okay during his debut. Not a spectacular performance but he was not nervous on his first start for Oranje. Can contribute more going forward than he showed tonight.
Virgil van Dijk 6/10: Solid in the first half before being taken off by Frank de Boer. Wasn’t given much trouble by the Mexican backline.
Stefan de Vrij 6/10: Like Van Dijk, De Vrij was solid in the first half and had very little to do before being substituted.
Teun Koopmeiners 7/10: Made a good impression on his debut in the midfield. Was always looking for the ball and made some good passes. A good first outing in Oranje from the AZ captain.
Georginio Wijnaldum 5/10: Nowhere to be seen for Oranje during the defeat. Could not get into the game at all. Went off on the hour mark.
Donny van de Beek 4.5/10: Van de Beek’s struggles in an Oranje shirt continue. Made some good off the ball runs but barely got involved with the ball at his feet. Doesn’t look like a number ten for this Dutch side.
Steven Berghuis 6/10: Looked threatening in the first half and caused the Mexican backline some problems. Was substituted on the hour.
Ryan Babel 4.5/10: Another chance for Babel in Oranje and another game that the aging forward looks poor. Shot one chance wide in the first half. Not quick enough to be a threat. Was substituted on the hour.
Memphis Depay 5.5/10: Couldn’t make it happen for the Netherlands going forward and struggled to have an impact. Was off target a few times and missed a sitter in the last few minutes.
Substitutes:
Joel Veltman 5/10: Came on at the break. Netherlands backline was not as secure in the second half, and Veltman gave Corona a big chance by trying to play offside.
Nathan Ake 5/10: Came on at the break and gave away the penalty. Jimenez looked offside before the soft foul, and Ake may have been unlucky.
Luuk de Jong 6/10: Gave Netherlands something different up front and was almost involved in a late equaliser. However, Memphis hit the bar after his header was saved.
Marten de Roon 6/10: Helped wrestle some more control in the midfield.
Calvin Stengs 6/10: Looked lively off the bench but couldn’t help Netherlands find an equaliser.
Quincy Promes N/A: Only got six minutes at the end. Too short for a review
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Agree as I put under in Frank we Trust I was thrilled to see Koopmeiners get his debut he gets overlooked & underrated imo bc bf the depth in position but he is such a terrier great work rate engine tidy passing taking tackles. Great footballer but should be comfortable beating Mexico imo though they have a good squad individual Oranje has more talent imo. Since De Boer took over lady break & this Friendly hasn’t seen the same especially Depay & attacking wise.
Wasn’t my first choice & I think Koeman will regret leaving such a talented well drilled squad for Euros or so it looked… To go to Barca & probably not have a job by Euros bc one of nee presidential candidates has already said he could win treble & he would sack him.