Netherlands future shines bright after dominating last two World Champions



It’s been a torrid few years for the Netherlands as far as their national football team is concerned, failing to bridge a generational gap of top class stars. That is, it seems, until now after the Orange conquered World Cup winners France last night having thumped the 2014 champions Germany in their previous UEFA Nations League outing.

It’s all set up a decisive match with Joachim Low’s struggling side, who were relegated to League B with Netherlands victory on Friday night despite entering the tournament as the highest ranked side according to UEFA’s coefficient points. In fact, Ronald Koeman’s side couldn’t have faced a tougher draw based on said rankings, with France the highest rated team from pot two of League A, while the Dutch were the lowest ranked team in the top league, only marginally ahead of Austria in 13th.

Their 2-0 win over Didier Deschamps’ men has now meant that a point would be enough to see the underdogs top Group 1, but while one wouldn’t bet against it, this new look Netherlands side have proven to be a force to be reckoned with regardless of whether they get the result they need in Gelsenkirchen on Monday.

Any assumption that a 3-0 win over the Germans last month may have been a fluke was quashed by the performance against the French after all, and while said scoreline against Die Mannschaft may have slightly flatted Koeman’s side, if anything the 2-0 win on Friday flattered France.

Indeed, had it not been for a strong performance from Hugo Lloris - earning the visitors’ highest WhoScored.com rating by a considerable distance (8.00) - it could have been a real dressing down for the World champions. The Tottenham keeper was forced into nine saves, conceding twice, while opposite number Jasper Cillessen faced just two shots on target by comparison.

It was, in that sense, another hugely encouraging display from the pairing of Virgil van Dijk and Matthijs de Ligt, who provide a composed and domineering platform from which to build. Meanwhile, at the opposite end Memphis Depay looks like the player that Manchester United were counting on being the long-awaited heir to Cristiano Ronaldo at Old Trafford.

The 24-year-old, now starring for Lyon, hit the target with all five of his attempts and made sure of all three points with a panenka penalty that highlighted the supreme confidence with which he has been playing for the entire calendar year to now. It’s a confidence that often crosses the border into arrogance and ultimately may mean the forward is restricted to being a big fish in a small pond - compared to the clubs that he undoubtedly has the ability to play for that is - but for the time being he is the attacking talisman this Dutch side has lacked since the 2014 World Cup.

It is, however, in the engine room that the hosts really impressed on Friday night, and the presence of Frenkie de Jong and Georginio Wijnaldum in the middle of the park means that the Netherlands have a spine running through the side that can compete with the very best.

The former, still just 21, is destined for greatness and controlled the midfield against the likes of Kante and Matuidi in Rotterdam, completing 93 per cent of a match-high 95 passes. Crucially he doesn’t just play it safe either, and his vision, picking out a number of flicked or chipped through balls past the French defence was a joy to watch. The Ajax youngster was pivotal to his side boasting 58.5 per cent of the possession and a significantly superior pass accuracy than their out of sorts visitors.

 

 

Wijnaldum is the unsung hero of the side, however, and it’s a role he is used to playing at club level too. His work rate is phenomenal and while the Dutch are in possession, his task is to occupy opposition defenders both physically and mentally rather than demand the ball himself. The Liverpool star attempted just 29 passes against France, completing 27, but it was the intelligence of his movement that unlocked Deschamps’ defence on numerous occasions and made space for the likes of Depay on others.

Outside of the spine of the side there are still improvements to be made and places potentially up for grabs but on the evidence of their recent results, the support cast are performing admirably as things stand.

It only takes three or four world class players to make a world class national team sometimes. The Dutch arguably have one in captain Van Dijk right now, but the likes of De Ligt, De Jong and Depay have the potential to add to that tally and make the Netherlands great again. It’s early days, but it’s good to see one of Europe’s best national teams of old look to the future. It’s a bright one. It could yet be Oranje.

Netherlands future shines bright after dominating last two World Champions