Netherlands defeated Latvia 2-0 on Saturday to claim their first win in their 2022 World Cup qualifying campaign. Michael Bell provides his player ratings for the Oranje stars.
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Tim Krul 6/10: Had absolutely nothing to do all night until late in the second half when he pushed a shot onto the post.
Denzel Dumfries 6.5/10: Offered more going forward than Tete did against Turkey but Dumfries lacked that final product on the wing. A decent performance but Netherlands needs more from him in the positions he gets into.
Owen Wijndal 7/10: Much like Dumfries, Wijndal got forward a lot but lacked the final product with most of his crosses failing to meet their target. Did make one excellent last-ditch tackle to prevent Latvia from getting in on goal.
Matthijs de Ligt 7/10: A strong performance at the back from De Ligt, who was untroubled throughout the game. He made a great block in the opening minutes to prevent Latvia from scoring.
Daley Blind 6/10: Blind is great on the ball and can pass the ball around but when Latvia got some joy going forward it was usually due to Blind’s lack of pace. Was caught out a couple of times and got yellow carded for having to pull down his opponent after he got past him. Against stronger nations, Blind would be exposed.
Frenkie de Jong 7/10: Played a role in the opening goal and made some lovely passes throughout. The engine-room of the Netherlands midfield. A classy performance.
Georginio Wijnaldum 6/10: Netherlands captain once again struggled to have an impact. All six of his shots went off target and he was eventually substituted.
Davy Klaassen 6/10: Was given a role to support Luuk de Jong up front and Klaassen got plenty of chances, but he could not take any of them. Was guilty of several close range misses and hit the bar.
Steven Berghuis 7.5/10: A much better performance from the winger, who was able to have some joy against the Latvian defence. He got his first international goal too with a lovely strike.
Memphis Depay 6/10: A very frustrating performance from Memphis, who could not find the net from 10 shots on goal. At times he is brilliant but tonight he was rather wasteful. Clearly frustrated when he was substituted. Got an assist though.
Luuk de Jong 6/10: Got himself another goal, but you cannot say that De Jong was convincing up front for Oranje. Wasted several chances and hit the bar with a close range header. The calls for Wout Weghorst are not going to go away.
Substitutes
Ryan Gravenberch N/A: Not on the pitch long enough for a rating
Donny van de Beek N/A: Not on the pitch long enough for a rating
Ryan Babel N/A: Not on the pitch long enough for a rating
Calvin Stengs N/A: Not on the pitch long enough for a rating
Steven Bergwijn N/A: Not on the pitch long enough for a rating
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