Netherlands were held to a 1-1 draw in Slovakia in a game of two halves for Oranje. Michael Bell rates Ronald Koeman’s side’s performances in Trnava.
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Jeroen Zoet 6/10: Given a chance in place of Jasper Cillessen, Zoet could do nothing for the goal but made a good stop to deny Slovakia a second just before the break. Was largely untroubled in the second half. A decent showing by the PSV number one.
Daryl Janmaat 6/10: With competition from Kenny Tete and Hans Hateboer, Janmaat was given a chance by Koeman and although he had a solid enough game, it was unremarkable. Didn’t do enough going forward to help out the attack.
Patrick van Aanholt 6.5/10: A player who was clearly playing with confidence at the end of the season, Van Aanholt put in a decent shift at left-back. Almost netted the equaliser with a strike that flew just over the bar.
Matthijs de Ligt 7.5/10: An exceptional talent, De Ligt strolled through the game untroubled and unchallenged. Played a role in the equaliser too. Undroppable on this form.
Daley Blind 4.5/10: With Van Dijk rested, Blind was slotted into the centre of defence, which proved to be a big mistake. Easily beaten by Nemec for the opener and looked uncomfortable throughout his 66 minutes on the pitch. But what did Koeman really expect from someone who has barely kicked a ball all season?
Stefan De Vrij 6/10: Comfortable and uneventful evening for the new Inter Milan centre-back.
Kevin Strootman 5/10: Was given the captains armband for the evening but once again looked lost in an Oranje jersey. I struggle to see what he offers Koeman at all. Wijnaldum and De Roon much better options at the moment.
Donny van de Beek 5.5/10: Hauled off at halftime for Vormer which was slightly harsh on the Ajax youngster, who looked lively in the first half. Missed a decent chance to equalise in the first half.
Davy Propper 5.5/10: Has always been reliable in an Oranje jersey but the Brighton star struggled to create much with Slovakia outfighting the Oranje midfield
Memphis Depay 7.5/10: The attacker is in outstanding form for Lyon and was a constant threat for Netherlands throughout the game. Created several chances but was denied a goal by an outstanding Dubravka save. Got an assist but clearly wanted a goal and would have been frustrated at the end. However, on this form he is Netherlands top attacking option going forward.
Quincy Promes 7/10: Got the equaliser with an excellent curled strike into the bottom corner. Formed a lively partnership at times with Memphis but was often wasteful with the ball.
Substitutes:
Ruud Vormer 7/10: Came off the bench at halftime for his debut and shone in the second half. Created several chances with his superior passing range and came close to a goal himself with one effort cleared off the line and one denied by an excellent save. Based on this performance, he is a much better option for midfield than Strootman going forward.
Terence Kongolo 5.5/10: Slotted into the defence for Blind on 66 minutes and didn’t put a foot wrong at the back.
Steven Berghuis 5/10: Didn’t have enough time on the pitch to make an impact
Eljero Elia 5/10: Didn’t have enough time on the pitch to make an impact
Wout Weghorst 5/10: Didn’t have enough time on the pitch to make an impact
Marten de Roon 5/10: Didn’t have enough time on the pitch to make an impact
I totally agree with the ratings. Daley Blind in my opinion could play an important role on the national team if he is line up as a defensive midfielder where his lack of speed will not be exposed, but his positioning, calmness, passing ability can provide MUCH NEEDED cover in that part of the team.When it comes to Strootman, I have always been puzzled as to what he actually provides to a team. He is just an average player and if I recall athough De Light rookie mistakes cause the loss against Bulgaria, it is actually Strootman’s error in Sweden on the equalizer that cost the Dutch elimination. I believe Van Der Beek should be given the opportunity to own a spot as he reminds of a young Johan Neesken.
Good ratings as always Michael.
– Like many, I raised my eyebrows when Blind started. In the absence of Van Dijk, there were 2 better options for the 3rd CB – Kongolo and Ake.
– Memphis still shows flashes of selfishness, but there’s no doubt that he’s gotten way more consistent in the past year. Needs more time to gel with Promes.
– I liked what I saw from Van Aanholt in this match. Seems well suited to a 5-3-2 as he has a lot more freedom to showcase his attacking threat.
– RB and the 3rd midfielder (other than Propper and Wijnaldum) are the biggest question marks. Hateboer should be played Monday at RB, while Vormer is certainly an option for CM going forward.
Maybe a bit pedantic but there is a common problem with player ratings that really bugs me. (not just on Football Oranje but nearly everywhere.
That is, a player who plays reasonably well but gets less game time gets roughly the same score as a player who plays poorly but gets more time.
For example,
Strootman (5.0) – ‘…but once again looked lost in an Oranje jersey. I struggle to see what he offers Koeman at all.’
Van de Beek (5.5) – ‘Hauled off at halftime for Vormer which was slightly harsh on the Ajax youngster, who looked lively in the first half.’
Just a suggestion – the player ratings are based on: the quality of their own play and the positive/negative contribution they made to the team performance – based solely on the time they actually played.
Van De Beek (45mins) 6.5/10:…
Strootman (81mins) 4.5/10:…
The times given then should make it obvious as to what contribution they made to overall team performance.
Weghourst for example played only 7-8 mins but pressed really well during that time making it easy for the midfield to break down the Slovakians play. He got into position nicely on a couple of plays to hold up the ball and bring the team up the field (even if the play/decisions weren’t the best following on from this).
So Weghourst (7mins) 6/10:…