The Netherlands defeated Qatar 2-0 to seal their place in the last 16 of the World Cup. Michael Bell provides his player ratings.
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Andries Noppert 6/10: Had no saves to make of any real note but claimed some crosses and did his job when called upon.
Denzel Dumfries 5/10: Once again Dumfries did not reach the level we expect from him in a Netherlands shirt. Sloppy in possession and not able to create anything despite getting into some decent positions.
Daley Blind 6/10: Played a solid but unremarkable game. Got forward more than he did in the previous ties and had a shot blocked early on. Better but not really tested defensively.
Virgil van Dijk 6.5/10: Swept up well and dealt with anything aerially. He even looked more animated than usual and looked visibly angry after some poor sloppy play by his teammates. A better captain’s performance.
Nathan Ake 6/10: Another solid performance from the Manchester City defender, who only loses a mark because he was shown a yellow card.
Jurrien Timber 5.5/10: We are still yet to see the best of Timber at the back and in possession. Some sloppy moments again which could be punished against better sides.
Frenkie de Jong 7/10: With De Roon in the side, De Jong was able to push forward and that benefited the side. De Jong scored and looked more influential when in possession.
Marten de Roon 5.5/10: Sloppy on the ball at times but he improved as the game went on. His presence unleashes De Jong to go forward more.
Davy Klaassen 6/10: Got himself an assist and set up another decent chance before the break, but Klaassen needs to stop losing the ball. If he can remain influential and be better in possession, then the number ten position looks his.
Cody Gakpo 7.5/10: Another excellent goal to make it three in three, Gakpo is having a very impressive World Cup. Looked good in the first half and was less influential after the break, but the World is starting to notice just how good Gakpo is.
Memphis Depay 6/10: A rusty performance from the striker, who got just over an hour. He was unlucky not to score in the second half but De Jong was there to tap in. Needs more match practice but the attack did look better with him in it.
Substitutes
Steven Berghuis 6/10: Looked lively after coming on and had a goal disallowed before hitting the crossbar.
Vincent Janssen 5/10: The ball again bounced off him at times but he worked hard and ran the channels toward the end.
Teun Koopmeiners N/A: Not on the pitch long enough for a review
Wout Weghorst N/A: Not on the pitch long enough for a review
Kenneth Taylor N/A: Not on the pitch long enough for a review
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Blind:
120 touches 91%
11 turovers
Duels won 1/4
Headers won 0/2
Timber:
128 touches 95%
8 turnovers
Duels won 8/11
Headers won 2/3
And somehow Blind is solid and Timber is sloppy.
Whoever wrote this his assistant has to be also Danny Blind.
Overall another terrible performance by Oranje. My only hope is that they are playing this way on purpose but I don’t think so. Blind, Klaassen, Janssen shouldn’t be called up in first place and yet they are playing key roles for Van Gaal. He must be genius if he has a plan to win World Cup with players that are too weak to play in Eredivisie but I don’t think so and he and his assistant Blind (worst coach ever) are wasting another generation of great players. It’s hard to watch and I have little hope that I’m wrong but I was not with Euro 2020 and WC Quals 2018. Not to mention Van Gaal wasted great team in 2002 World Cup Quals as he also used some strange selections. God please make Van Gaal look like a genius and me and other people idiots after the tournament!
Is Daley Blind contractually allowed to be dropped?
I totally agree, it was mostly turgid again. The one bright point was FDJ being able to get into advanced positions. As mediocre a player as de Roon is, it seems he is now a necessity in this ridiculous system.
I feel an absolute idiot for backing this team pre-tournament. They will not beat USA in regular time. I do think they may win in ET as they have much greater squad depth combined with a much less taxing group. They should be fitter and fresher as the game goes on. The USA midfield is great (far better than FDJ/MDR) but when they tire and need to be replaced the standard drops about 500%.
It’s far too late now but if Blind and Dumfries are going to start as wing-backs in this system for the tournament (and Frimpong seems to be injured now anyway) the chances of winning are virtually zero.
The 3 at the back system has been a bust overall this tournament. You need a top class midfield and excellent wing-backs to make it work. This team has neither. Even if Memphis were to hit top form and Gakpo continues to shoot the lights out it would not be enough to paper over the huge cracks in this stupid system.
Janssen should not be used again. Always lost the ball even the opponent is Qatar.
Dumfries finally created a good pass from the bottom after 3 games. Totally below expectation.
generous for klassen, given how often he lost the ball in bad positions.
blind and klassen will clearly be liabilities once better opposition is on the other side.
van gaal has been very poor this world cup.
looking forward to koeman’s return.
I don’t understand how Klaassen is a 6. Despite the assist, he was awful. Constantly gives the ball away and his touch and ball control is horrendous.
Ake and Gakpo have been bright spots, but I don’t have much hope for the knockout stages – or even the next match – based on what we have seen. I think the Dutch will lose the midfield battle against USA, just as they did against Ecuador.
i dont know what the hell happened to this team we were playing attractive and solid football with 3412 suddenly in the world cup it turned to a disasterous performance but somehow we managed to get to the top
i dont know if its instructions from LVG or what but the players are playing with no passion just playing like friendly games even in friendlies we used to see a hungry team
what got me cautious also when Van Dijk shouted at the players during the game so what i see is not a plan from LVG i think it is the performance we gonna witness along the tournament
Our next game against a strong and discipline USA team if we continue playing like this we are not even gonna past them and we will see another Euro 2020 scenario
Instead of Jenson I would have given Luuk de Jong and Simons some time v Qatar.
Combined with Gakpo, it would be good to see how they performed before going against the US.
Surely LVG brings in Simons and DeJong to with Gakpo. They desperately need some movement and passes made.
The Dutch team is peaking at the right time.