It may not have been as simple as it should have been but Netherlands have begun Euro 2020 with a victory and that is what matters most.
- By Michael Bell
- Follow Michael on Twitter
On Sunday morning, I tweeted out that I was going to thoroughly enjoy Netherlands first major tournament game since 2014 regardless of what happens.
Now, I would be lying if I said that I did enjoy all of it, with the game an emotional rollercoaster from start to finish, but there was a feeling of happiness and just relief when the full-time whistle blew.
After the performances against Scotland and Georgia, I wasn’t expecting a great showing going into the game, but the first-half was a pleasant surprise. I thought Netherlands were dominant from the start and only some big saves and some poor finishing from Denzel Dumfries meant it wasn’t 2/3-0 at the break.
I have been outspoken about the 5-3-2 but against Ukraine it was more of a 3-5-2 and the full-backs caused so many problems for the opponents. Dumfries frustrated me with his finishing but the PSV captain was getting in time and time again, while Patrick van Aanholt also had a lot of freedom on the left. How it remained 0-0 for so long was a big surprise.
The opening goal from Gini Wijnaldum was thoroughly deserved and quickly making it 2-0 through Wout Weghorst should have killed the game.
Of course, Netherlands never do anything easily these days.
Not closing down Yarmalenko on his left-foot is just stupid with Owen Wijndal and Nathan Ake needing to do better in that situation However, it was an outstanding strike. The second goal was just poor marking from Weghorst, who lost his man.
I had the feeling that Ukraine were then going to push for the winner, but fair play to the Oranje players who picked themselves up and they regained control. The Ake cross was fantastic and what a header from Dumfries, who put the misses behind him to net the winner.
The way Netherlands then kept possession through injury time was terrific with Frenkie de Jong outstanding at winning free-kicks and driving past his opponents.
Three points on the board is what Netherlands wanted and it is what they got. A lot of pundits expected Netherlands to drop points against Ukraine but this performance fully deserved the victory and it deserves praise.
Wijnaldum, De Jong, De Vrij, and Dumfries were all excellent throughout the game, while Jurrien Timber continues to impress for a 19-year-old. The 3-5-2 did help Netherlands dominate possession and they created plenty of chances throughout.
Now, let’s not pretend that there weren’t issues. Netherlands were open at times and Ukraine did look like causing damage every time they broke. The left-back position is an issue and Ukraine looked their most dangerous when attacking down the right. De Boer needs to decide what to do as Patrick van Aanholt and Owen Wijndal have both struggled. Does he put Daley Blind there once Matthijs de Ligt is back?
Marten de Roon’s presence on the pitch still remains odd to me too. He puts in a few tackles here and there, but Ukraine passed the ball around him and he offers nothing in possession. De Boer has Ryan Gravenberch and Teun Koopmeiners on the bench and either would offer much more creativity. Blind could also push up to midfield if Timber retains his place at the back.
Up front, Memphis had an off-day especially in the second half and he was frustrating at times as he lost the ball. However, he remains the key player in this Oranje side and he will do better as the tournament goes on. Next to him, Wout Weghorst got his goal and he worked hard off the ball. He was also guilty of possession loss at times, and it would not be overly surprising if De Boer decided to go with Donyell Malen against Austria.
Yes, it was stressful and frustrating at times, but Netherlands has their first win in a European Championships since the 2-0 victory against Romania in 2008. Let’s just enjoy that for now and look forward to the clash with Austria on Thursday!
Hup Holland Hup!
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I think if van Aanholt and especially Wijndal do not better than that Blind may be an option for de Boer on the left. We need to be more agressive in the defense and the pressure must be stronger. We must give no space to the opponents to pass the ball easily in front of our goal because this will be a problem against big teams.
I think de Roon is very important for de Boer and he will line up him as well as Weghorst against Austria.
Dutch teams of the past would have dropped their heads and pointed fingers at each other after the Ukrainians got the equalizer – this group pressed for a winner instead. It’s a sign that things are very positive in the camp and the players believe in play one another. Great indication of what’s to come.
If he drops a forward who has scored he will ruin the atmosphere in the squad or at least certainly with that player. You score you keep your place as a forward surely.
I also had the same thought about where de Ligt fits into this now. Timber looks fine in a back three with de vrij, where as de ligt looked all at sea in the two warm up games.
Most of the issues with a back 3/5 are caused by Blinds lack of pace, the issue at lwb and the gap between midfield and defense as de Roon can’t link them. It doesn’t really help to move Blind to lwb as he simply doesn’t have the pace to get back when possession is lost. He’s also not necessarily the best swap for de roon. Geat ball player but if had been blessed with a bit more pace he’d be better though of.
If only Gosens had picked the orange!
Good point about not dropping a scoring forward – I don’t think that will sit well either.
I respectfully disagree about Blind though. People have been critiquing his pace for years, yet he is way more tactically and positionally aware (and experienced) than PVA or Wijndal. He’s played at LB against quicker and better teams than Austria (e.g. Germany, England, France in nations league and Germany in WCQ) and did just fine.
it was all good until the two goals came that showed us that we still got problems and amateur ones
i was about to overlook those errors but we conceded two goals so we must be afraid now
i think the team offensively was good better than what i expected Memphis wanted to make his marks that made him selfish sometimes but all was good i think PVA is better than wijndal by the next matches he will get better
the problem is the large space between the back 3 and the midfield any strong team will punish us with all that spaces with some skilled players and little passes our defense will get demolished i hope de boer find a solution for this you can play with advanced deffense and that is risky or cover the defense well and this is de roon’s job with frenkie
i hope things will be better by time and i hope to leave our mark this tournament
Keep Weghorst in. He can finish in front of the net.
Great to see the Oranje have more of a go than passy passy around the back trying to control a game they aren’t really in control of.
Definitely Michael, lets enjoy it come what may.
On selection, given FDB’s squad, would you not start with Gini, Frenkie and Gravenbach in the middle and work out the side from there.
I’d start with Frenkie central playmaker/defender, but really it would be about rotating between the three, with one of them always up there centrally as the ball makes its way into the box.
There’s a lot of scope from there for dynamic attacking while sureing up the defense with three CBs and two screening from the 2 WB and 3 CMs.
I think one of the key partnerships that needs to be sorted for this tournament is Blind and Ake working well together on the left.
It’s interesting to see whether FDB would try the 4-3-3 instead of 3-5-2, maximizing MDL and SDV duet at the back with two wingbacks to support the attack going up and down the flanks, which I’m sure that Dumfries is capable and PVA as well. I would like to see three midfield set up as you mentioned of FDJ, Ryan, and Gini. Playing a rotating role and taking turns to coming to support the attack into the box. Up front, Depay and Wout are irreplaceable while Berghuis or Promes could also start on the RWF.