A much improved second-half performance saw Netherlands come from behind to earn a 1-1 draw at Slovakia.
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After the victory over Portugal in March, Ronald Koeman decided to stick with a 5-3-2 formation for the visit to Slovakia with Daley Blind coming into the centre of defence, while Jeroen Zoet was prefered over Jasper Cillessen and Kevin Strootman took the captains armband.
Netherlands got off to a poor start and were behind after only eight minutes with former Willem II striker Adam Nemec powering over Blind to head in the opener.
Through Memphis Depay and Donny van de Beek, Netherlands came close but Slovakia had the better chances for a second with Juraj Kucka hitting the bar and forcing Zoet into an excellent save, while Marek Hamsik was left unchallenged to hammer a strike just wide.
Koeman decided to introduce Ruud Vormer at half-time with the Club Brugge midfielder making his debut in place of Van de Beek. The change worked with Oranje much better in possession and Memphis forced Martin Dubravka into a good save early in the second period.
Just before the hour mark, Netherlands found the leveller through Quincy Promes who picked the ball up outside the area before curling an excellent strike into the bottom corner. Promes then turned provider moments later to give Vormer an excellent chance but his chipped effort was cleared off the line.
Before the end, Netherlands created the better chances but couldn’t find a winner with Dubravka pulling off another top save to deny Vormer, while Memphis went close with an effort from range and a header.
Netherlands will now close the season away to Italy on Monday.
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Dutch shooting was TERRIBLE….either over the top or straight at the keeper. This was painful to watch.
On the whole, very disappointing. Straight back to the bad old days.
I’m hoping Koeman is looking at the first game very different from the second. Just as he did with the England and Portugal games.
I don’t expect to see Blind, Strootman and Janmaat in the Italy match if my hoping is on the right track.
Average performance. Struggled in the first half but good improvement in the 2nd. Blind should not have played. Him aside, defensively the players and the system Koeman has put into place are fine.
The larger problem in this match (and the challenge going forward) is lack of consistency at forward positions, and lack of a truly creative attack midfielder.
Memphis shows flashes and is improving, but is no world-beater (yet). Promes is even less consistent, but sadly those are the best forward options at the moment.
Still convinced the 5-3-2 is the best way to go. They do look more solid defensively and when the qualification series begins next March, being stable there is far more important than how the team does in the Nations League.
Why is Blind starting over Van Dijk. Van Dijk and De Ligt are our best defensive partnership and need time playing together. And why isn’t Wijnaldum starting, he’s one of our best midfielders in a team that need his passing ability. We still have a talented team, just need some consistency