Netherlands defeated Montenegro 4-0 in a must-win World Cup qualifier in Eindhoven on Saturday evening. Michael Bell provides his player ratings for the Oranje stars.
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Justin Bijlow 7/10: Bijlow didn’t have an overly busy night but a few times he came to Netherlands rescue when his teammates gifted Montenegro chances. Only his second Oranje appearance, but Bijlow looking very solid, and there is no reason he cannot be number one for years to come.
Denzel Dumfries 6.5/10: Dumfries missed the game against Norway and Jurrien Timber could not impress at right-back. Dumfries is much stronger going forward and he proved that with plenty of overlapping runs.
Tyrell Malacia 6.5/10: Overall, Malacia had a strong debut for Netherlands but he nearly gifted Montenegro a goal with a horrible backpass. He has the capability to be a great left-back for Oranje but can’t make mistakes like that against bigger nations. Got himself an assist through.
Stefan de Vrij 7/10: Another strong performance from the centre-back, who has gained nothing but praise since Van Gaal took over. He had one sloppy pass in the second half, but other than that he was solid. Popped up as a threat at times through set-pieces too.
Matthijs de Ligt 6.5/10: Back in the eleven with Van Dijk given a rest, De Ligt was barely troubled throughout the game. He has a fight on his hands to remain in the XI with De Vrij so highly regarded by Van Gaal.
Frenkie de Jong 7/10: A strong performance from the midfielder once again in Oranje. Was always probing and provided three key passes. In the second half, he helped Netherlands take complete control.
Davy Klaassen 6/10: Struggled to get involved in the game early on but he then hit the bar with a header. He had a solid but uneventful game afterward. Completed 100% of his passes.
Georginio Wijnaldum 6/10: Wijnaldum got himself a goal but he had a difficult game in the middle of the pitch. Lost the ball a number of times and almost gifted Montenegro a goal in the second half.
Cody Gakpo 7/10: Playing in his home stadium, Gakpo shined with his first international assist and goal. His first Netherlands goal was one to remember as he curled an excellent strike in from the edge of the box.
Steven Berghuis 6/10: Berghuis had a difficult first-half and lost the ball too often. He did provide an excellent pass for Wijnaldum’s goal though. An up and down game for the winger, who has his critics.
Memphis Depay 7.5/10: His 70th cap was capped with two goals and another strong performance in Oranje. Memphis won the penalty that he scored to open the scoring and his second was a lovely finish. The catalyst for the victory.
Substitutes
Marten de Roon N/A: Not on the pitch long enough for a review
Steven Bergwijn N/A: Not on the pitch long enough for a review
Guus Til N/A: Not on the pitch long enough for a review
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I believe that van gaal is the right man for the Job x
Seriously, what is Klassen doing there?
For one thing Gini never plays as well when Klassen is on the field…
We must not have watched the same match. Not sure what Bijlow, Malacia, and Gakpo (besides his goal) did to deserve the rating you gave them. Malacia was invisible on the left wing and so frankly was Gakpo until he scored his wonderful goal -albeit after the game was already won! Bijlow did not make any saves as you claim he did. It is the Montenegro players who badly missed the 2 or 3 chances that we gifted them. He deserved no better than a 6 and is far from inspiring confidence. He seems very nervous and in my opinion the jury is still out about him. We will see when he really gets tested. Malacia almost gave a certain goal through a careless back pass and did otherwise contribute very little. Same goes for Gakpo who was isolated on his left wing and never beat his defender. Bergwijn did more in the 14 min he played than Gakpo did in the entire match. On the other hand, despite losing the ball a few times in the first half, Berghuis had a good game more deserving of a 7 than a 6 and certainly more than Gakpo. He linked up play very well with Memphis and Dumfries and gave a wonderful delicate assist to Wijnaldum (not a cross by the way!!). So overall he had a good performance.
Malacia looked pretty good aside from his horrendous backpass. He had the assist on Gakpo’s goal and was definitely not invisible throughout the match. Gakpo grew into the match with more and more confidence and was finally rewarded with his goal. So no, I won’t think we were watching the same match. It also does not matter that the match was already won when he scored. Scoring that quality of a goal, his first for Oranje, in his home stadium in Eindhoven, was a dream moment for him and will only boost his confidence at this level. Saying “albeit after the game was already won” is just looking for a reason to criticize.
I’m growing more and more annoyed with the negative reactions to Oranje’s performances when they win. Sure, this was against Montenegro, but they are also a team who can cause an upset, as they did last week getting draw in Istanbul. It seems like for a good number of Oranje “fans”, anything less than a 15-0 win yesterday isn’t good enough. Bottom line, Oranje is a point behind Turkey and a win Tuesday solidifies them as the favourite to win the group and qualify for WC2022. How about some positivity and support for the team when they earn it rather than a “yeah we won, but” attitude.
I never stated that the team played poorly, rather I was merely correcting what I thought were generous rating marks for some of the players, that’s all. I agree that the performance was much better and the team looked much more capable as a whole than it had been for a while. I also agree with you that Gakpo’s goal was superb (I mentioned it) but it came at a time when the game was already won which is a fact. Had Gakpo scored that goal to open the scoring, you would agree it would have been far more impactful. I also wonder how Malacia can get credit for an assist on that goal when really Gakpo deserves all the credit. This is unlike the goal scored by Wijnaldum where in that case, all the credit needed to go to Berghuis for his magnificent pass. No worries we are all Dutch supporters here. I have been since I watched the fabulous Dutch team of 1974 lose to West Germany…A loss I still have to digest!
Fair enough. I guess you can say I’m on a mission against general negativity that a good number of Dutch fans always bring to the table. I can be touchy!
For Gakpo, I don’t agree about the timing of the goal lessening the impact, but there are different impacts to consider. I see the impact of the goal for him as a player, not for the team. Had he got his foot onto the ball during that scramble in the box in the first half and scored an ugly goal, that would have been more impactful for the team to put them up 1-0. I don’t believe the timing of the goal he did score matters for his confidence as a national team player. It’s a shame Gakpo is unable to play against Turkey. As for the assist, it’s just a simple fact that Malacia passes the ball to Gakpo who scores, thus it is an assist. The quality/simplicity of the pass doesn’t change that, even though Berguis’ pass to Wijnaldum was nicer to see. In both cases, without the pass, there is no goal.
Hearty congratulations to LVG and his Men in Orange.