Louis van Gaal admitted that Netherlands did not play well in the 1-1 draw against Norway on Wednesday evening.
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Erling Haaland gave Norway the lead in Oslo before Davy Klaassen equalised to earn Netherlands a 1-1 draw that keeps them second in the World Cup qualifying group.
Speaking to NOS after the match, Van Gaal said on the performance, “We were far too careless. That is of course also because the opponent defended in a very compact space. Then it is not so easy and you have to be very creative and solid on the ball. And we weren’t… We lost the ball in situations that I didn’t think were necessary. The players have to have the form of the day and there was none.”
Van Gaal believes there needs to be some realism around the national team, “We can think that this Dutch team is among the top in the world, but it is not. We also have to function as a team. Norway has also played very well as a team. And then you have to show creativity, which we lack at the moment.”
Van Gaal isn’t planning to abandon the 4-3-3 yet, “I think it’s going too far to say after one game that we can’t play 4-3-3. That also has to do with the form of the day of the players. But I said in advance that we are thin on the wings. And that was also shown today.”
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Louis Van Gaal appeared unconvincing in his first match with the Oranje.
Playing at home to Norway overall the Oranje dominated the game with 66% possession & 17 shots (6 on target).
After the 1-1 result in the first half, LVG pulled out Steven Berghuis and replaced him with Donyell Malen.
Broadly speaking, there are still many weaknesses that we can see, the longed 4-3-3 formation becomes ineffective because it does not place the right players. In the 2nd half Norway created 1 dangerous chance through Haaland who hit the post. The rest can be said that the game is dominated by Orange players. Frenkie De Jong is a player who performs well, the rest play mediocre or even bad.
The main weakness is the midfield. This line is a vital line, unfortunately Klaasen and especially Wijnaldum don’t seem to know what to do in the second half. There is no general/leader in midfield, Frenkie is indeed good at controlling the ball and accelerating, only he, as we all know, rarely has a forward breakthrough that creates opportunities/assists for goals. Wijnaldum was again out of sight and playing hide and seek, because he actually has the same position as Klaasen, namely in 10th position, waiting for a good ball from the middle or the wings to become a goal-scoring attacker. Including De Roon would also be useless because he doesn’t know how to build attacks, create chances, assists let alone score goals. Also Gravenberch, he is good at dribbling the ball but he doesn’t know how to pass through, passes away and has no leadership. The best solution is to include Teun Koopmeiners. He is a leader, good at reading the game, can provide assists & breakthrough passes that put opponents at risk. He can also cross and score goals. Unfortunately Van Gaal, like Frank De Boer, did not see all of these qualities because he had never watched Koopmeiners play with AZ Alkmaar a club which in the last 2 years was in 2nd & 3rd position in the Eredivisie who was underestimated and only watched Ajax matches, even the Ajax reserves. get into the squad.
In a dominant situation with possession of the ball, alternative attacks can be built from both wing-backs. Blind can actually do a crossing, it’s just that it’s old and not fast either. The situation should Van Gaal make changes to include young left-back Tyrell Malacia who has pace. Likewise at right-back, Jurrien Timber is better for the right-central position like how he plays at his club. That’s why it is appropriate for Van Gaal to enter Dumfries (who performed well in the European Cup) from the 55th minute or 60th minute not in the 90’s as if the game had gone well.
With no creativity from a crippled midfield & full-back; the front line is so short of ball supply Cody Gakpo is still too green to be a starter. Donyell Malen has pace but he is known as a forward who is not sharp and wastes a lot of chances. Memphis Depay is not a target man, all crosses and corner kicks and free kicks are useless because there is no target man, that’s why a real striker like Wout Weghorst is needed, who is tall, strong in aerial duels and good as a finisher. Memphis Depay is better played from the left wing forward, where he has good dribbling, acceleration, can cross and can score goals from the left.
Hopefully Van Gaal can evaluate tonight’s match and dare to make changes to the line-up for the good & victory of the Oranje