Netherlands took another step towards the European Championships with a 2-1 victory over Belarus. Michael Bell provides his players ratings for the Oranje win.
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Jasper Cillessen 6/10: Once again, Cillessen had a quiet night but he could not prevent Belarus from scoring.
Joel Veltman 5.5/10: Preferred to Dumfries but did not make a big impression. Was unable to create anything going forward and was caused some issues by the Belarus attack.
Daley Blind 6/10: A quiet and unspectacular evening from the left-back, who was solid against the Belarus attack. Didn’t offer much going forward though.
Matthijs de Ligt 5/10: Was let off in the first half with a poor clearance and appeared hesitant throughout. A player who is not in form at the moment and it shows.
Virgil van Dijk 6/10: Solid throughout but lost his man for the Belarus goal. It was not entirely his fault and Van Dijk did get Netherlands going forward with several excellent long balls.
Frenkie de Jong 6.5/10: As usual he kept possession well and created space with his dribbling ability. However, he looked a little tired in Minsk and didn’t track back for the Belarus goal.
Donny van de Beek 5/10: Was given his big chance in place of De Roon but did not make it count. Was invisible for most of his time on the pitch before being replaced just after the hour.
Georginio Wijnaldum 8.5/10: Wijnaldum has been one of the unsung heroes for Oranje recently but he grabbed the headlines on Sunday’s with two goals, the second of which was excellent. He got Netherlanda a crucial win tonight!
Steven Bergwijn 5.5/10: The PSV winger tried to have an influence but struggled to trouble the Belarus defence.
Donyell Malen 5.5/10: Malen was given a big chance to shine with Memphis out. The in-form striker looked lively but was barely involved. Should have made it 3-1 before the end but couldn’t finish when one on one.
Quincy Promes 6/10: His cross led to the opening goal and the Ajax forward was the most dangerous part of the Oranje attack before being replaced in the 67th minute.
Substitutes
Marten de Roon 6.5/10: Came on when Belarus began to cause problems and brought stability back to Netherlands. Belarus didn’t come close to causing issues after De Roon came on.
Luuk de Jong 6/10: Came on in the 67th minute. Added height to Netherlands attack and also came close to scoring with a header which went over the bar.
Ryan Babel 5/10: Brought on with a few minutes to go. Did not make a big impression.
I’m not one to be as critical of Blind as others are, but today I think a 6 is too high. That first part of the 2nd half when Belarus started creating chances began with his poor ball loss and bad recovery on a couple occasions. His crosses when he did get forward were also below his normal quality.
The wingers continue to be short of what Holland have had in the past. In particular I wasn’t impressed with Bergwijn, who rarely threatened in either match. Koeman seriously needs to consider calling Stengs up next time to provide another option at winger, because Promes and Babel are only marginally better while Steven Berghuis doesn’t even belong in the team.