With Netherlands already assured of a World Cup place next year, Michael Doodeman takes a look at the players who will look for a recall as the Dutch face their final two qualifying group matches next month.
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The Dutch team are now qualified for Brazil 2014, but they will still be looking to seal off their qualifying campaign with an undefeated record. However, in October for their next couple matches, a couple of key Dutch players are back in stride, and will be thought of by Louis Van Gaal.
Tim Krul: Newcastle keeper should be called up again after strings of impressing performances. He proves to be one of the English Premier Leagues best keepers game after game, and he’s kept Newcastle in the game on several occasions. Krul is only 25, a young age for a keeper, and he’s more than capable to be the Oranje’s number one. Vorm is the only keeper in Krul’s way for the number one jersey, as Maarten Stekelenburg has been struck with injury after injury preventing him from reaching his full form.
Gregory Van Der Wiel: The right back for “Les Parisiens” has earned a starting berth for the past several games ahead of Frenchmen Christophe Jallet. Van Der Wiel has received loads of criticism both in the Euros and for some matches for PSG last campaign, but the Dutchmen has hit the road running for PSG’s new season. He is still fairly young (25) and despite the criticism, we must remember he was our starting right back that helped the Oranje make it to the finals of the 2010 World Cup Finals. He’s receiving lots of playing time, and is in fairly good form, Van Gaal may be making a phone call to Paris in the near future.
Nigel De Jong: The midfield enforcer is back in full gear, looking as crisp as he did before his injury. Surely Louis Van Gaal should be calling Nigel back up to return to the squad. De Guzman and Schaars have got the job done in the defensive midfield position, but they didn’t cover the young back four to the same degree as Nigel can. With a young defense, it’s crucial that the Dutch get De Jong back into the flow of things, to help keep a solid defensive structure against competitive teams.
Other questions regarding the selection for the Oranje entail Wesley Sneijder, Paul Verhaegh, and Jeroen Zoet. Van derVaart is back on the pitch with HSV, so will Wesley Sneijder be called up again? His performances with Holland were average, and his performance against his former club, Real Madrid on Tuesday night was far from convincing. A fit Daryl Janmaat and possible returns of Van Der Wiel or Van Rhijn could put Verhaegh’s place at right back in jeopardy. If Krul makes his way back into the squad, Zoet may be dropped from the selection, as Van Gaal opts for only three keepers in the squad.
In conclusion, there are many players competing for each position. Van Gaal has done a superb job making players fight and earn their positions, and this only makes the Dutch squad stronger. Only time will tell the future roles for each player in the squad.
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If LVG does not approach the next 2 games with the same expectations and Holland lose both games, it will affect their FIFA rankings and they could not be a number one seed at WC 2014. This should be a goal as there will be no easy 1st seed times like in Euro 2012 where Ukraine and Poland were 1st seeds. And still Holland drew Germany and Portugal(who they can’t ever beat). These next two games are just as important as they are higher ranked teams and more points are at stake.