The Netherlands was humbled 4-0 by France in the opening game of the Euro 2024 qualifiers. Michael Bell provides his player ratings.
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Jasper Cillessen 4.5/10: The second goal did not look good for the goalkeeper, who flapped at a cross and it bounced off him and into the net. Cillessen conceded four but he did make two really good saves.
Jurrien Timber 4.5/10: Looked completely lost playing at right-back and even when he moved centrally, there were errors from the Ajax man.
Nathan Ake 5.5/10: A solid performance at left-back from Ake, who made an excellent last ditch challenge in the first half.
Lutsharel Geertruida 5.5: Looked completely lost centrally and the Netherlands were punished. He did improve when moved to the right and he frustrated Mbappe at times.
Virgil van Dijk 5/10: Needed to organise his defence and try and keep it calm in the opening period, but that did not happen. He did not have his finest game in Oranje.
Kenneth Taylor 3/10: Granted his first start in Oranje but hooked after half an hour. Looked completely lost and out of his depth. Was robbed for the first goal and wasted a good attack with a terrible pass before being replaced.
Marten de Roon 3.5/10: In the early period he was coming asking for the ball which is not his strength and France capitalised on his lack of ability on the ball. Could not get near Griezmann all night.
Georginio Wijnaldum 5/10: Showed some nice touches and dribbles but missed a good chance to score in the first half. Looked calmer in possession when dropped deeper in the midfield.
Xavi Simons 6/10: The liveliest player in the Netherlands attack by far, Simons didn’t seem to be unsettled by the occasion and created a good chance for Memphis.The first of many games to come from the PSV star.
Steven Berghuis 5/10: Looked lively in the early period but went invisible as the game went on and was eventually substituted. Koeman says he is a winger, but Berghuis may be more effective playing in the midfield like he does at Ajax.
Memphis Depay 5/10: A tough shift for the forward, who had to drop deep to get the ball. Poked a good chance wide and missed the penalty late on. Did link up well with Simons at times though.
Substitutes
Wout Weghorst 5.5/10: Was brought on with the score at 3-0 and put himself about but got little service. Did earn the penalty and caused some danger.
Davy Klaassen 4/10: Came on and nearly gifted a goal to France. Was loose in possession and didn’t contribute much to the attack.
Donyell Malen 6/10: Looked very lively after coming on and ran at the French defence. A positive showing from the forward.
Daley Blind 5/10: Came on to earn his 100th cap in midfield and did put in some good passes to move the play forward. Did get booked after a French player breezed past him.
Tyrell Malacia N/A: Not on the pitch long enough for a review.
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This one is 100% on Ronald Koeman because of his selections he also had to be more resilient you are playing against strong team which have 3 squads and your squad half of it injured so why playing in attacking formation in my opinion he should have started with 3 at the back and be more conservative and playing on counter attacks you have to be disciplined in this situation against france which he completely didnt do
the only players that deserved to wear that oranje t-shirt tonight was ake & xavi
Van Dijk became unreliable i remember when we used to see him controlling the whole defense whatever names he got that trait totally gone from him he became so lazy and running away from responsibility
The defense really conceded two idiotic goals the second and the third which geeturida got deceived easily
De Vrij would have been a good option with van dijk as he is more experienced
the midfield was catastrophic with de roon taylor and wijnaldum
i dont know how the hell taylor is playing he is an absolute miss even in ajax
wijnaldum is not anymore that tireless player he is becoming burden
gravenberch even he doesnt play but he could have been the answer to the midfield problems instead of this lost midfield
The attack is the weakest point in the selection with memphis has been out of form since going to barca
and the struggling weghorst with 2 goals with man united
berghuis always disappeared against bigger teams
the only bright side was xavi and malen when he came
for me i still blame koeman for the selection and the result this match would have been better if started with this formation
Cillesen
Frimpong(Should have been called) de vrij van dijk ake malacia
gravenberch deroon wijnaldum
Memphis xavi
we could have get away with a point instead of what happened
AUX ARMES !
Number one in sport, cinema and history it’s FRANCE !!!
A bon entendeur….
It’s true. France is number one in the world on overall sport, cinema with US and only history.
Not sure what that was other than France’s WC homecoming. Did they just roll over?
If it was an actual performance to go by then only Ake, Xavi and Blind keep their caps.
Virgil is a big concern when there are betters options to come in. Will Koeman have balls to pick De Ligt and Boyman over Virgil and his lackiie positions Ake and Timber hold. What happen to the 433, where we can dominate with CBs.
While we have De Roon we are always suspect to the initiative play.
Blind would be a better option but not with Frenkie.
Good to see Gini back, he’s def better now coming from deeper – poor choice by Koeman.
If Koeman can just unearth the right wide players and sort the defence –
De Jong and Gini could hold the midfield with Xavi; Depay in front, or Weghourst and that ain’t looking so bad. Weghourst and Xavi might work well together, with Frenkie pulling but there’s got ot be better support around – Koeman has to find it quick enough and Gibraltar doesn’t help up next.
Cant believe I’m saying this but Dumfries was m8ssed last night.
Onwards and upwards from here hopefully
is netherlands dont have another coach? ….koeman, de boer, lvg, koeman again, how if koeman sack? the coach is lvg again or hiddink, or advocaat again? or danny blind again?
Its true, but was there any french player playing for France???!!!!