Mature performance Oranje winning vs Morocco

blog WC2018
by Jan

A lot of talking points before the game and one of those was Wesley Sneijder’s record breaking attempt. But it was young Mathijs de Ligt who got a record in the Moroccan game, while Wes has to play one more cap to reach his pinnacle.

Johan Cruyff used to be the youngest Oranje player ever to be red-carded in the orange jersey. Johan was only 19 years old when his constant talking became to much for the ref. Young Mathijs is 17 years and 292 days old and the proud owner of this new record. If JC’s career is anything to go on, De Ligt has a bright future. His card was for pushing a player through on goal down to the ground. I saw many fouls by Moroccan players more deserving of red, but hey….

de light rood

Holland won again. Sadly, it was a friendly, but at the same time, it wasn’t friendly at all. Morocco played a rough game and Oranje passed the test really well. They dealt with it in a mature manner. They didn’t lose their head or got provoked. Some brilliance from Promes, Janssen and Memphis was enough to secure the victory: 1-2.

Quincy Promes now silenced the criticasters who say the youngster is only good in Russia. He had a great match for us earlier, scoring twice and against Morocco he was mercurial, scoring one and assisting Janssen’s goal. Janssen had a solid game too, his usual workrate and a good shimmy resulting in a powerful shot on goal. His goal was taken with aplomb. Earlier on, Memphis wiggled his way through the box to offer Quincy a solid chance to score the opener.

It was a good match. Not just because of the win, but the way our lads dealt with the circumstances and it was definitely cool to see the Under 17 talents from 2011 emerge on this top level. Back then, coached by Albert Stuivenberg, the young lions played Germany under 7 off the pitch, winning the EC finals 5-2. Jetro Willems was the first to make it to the big time (2012). Terrence Kongolo was part of the 2014 World Cup squad and Karim Rekik also made his debut in Oranje already. Now, Tonny Vilhena, Memphis Depay and Nathan Ake were present, with Utrecht midfielder Yassine Ayoub on the bench for Morocco. He decided to don the colours of his father’s country but hasn’t played for the first team of Morocco yet.

promes moro

Fred Grim, interim coach, was very pleased. “I am pleased with the win. Yes, it’s a friendly but winning is a mood we need to get into asap. And we did. I’m also happy with the performance, although our second half wasn’t as good and after the sending off we came under pressure, but that’s normal. And I think we dealt with it.”

Nice forward Belhanda in particular challenged De Ligt and Wesley Hoedt with red-worthy challenges but both players did well. Advocaat could have seen on his telly how Hoedt in particular appeared to have a strong pass while Nathan Ake and Tonny Vilhena also spat in their palms to go to work against a strong Morocco (on paper). Marten de Roon, coming on for Steven Berghuis, had a part to play as well as he set up Promes for the assist on Janssen.

ake moroc

Nathan Ake got his “hare” making his first minutes for the Big Oranje. “I hoped to get some minutes but I heard a day before I’d play. Goosebumps. Really happy. The game wasn’t so good, but we played well in the first half. And we had to go deep at times physically, but thats ok. We got the result and we can build on this. I played left back again and was really knackered. Haven’t played that position for a while but I don’t mind, I’ll play wherever the coach needs me.”

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92 comments

  1. Good analysis of the game. Well a win is a win it will give more confidence to the team. Promes seems more comfortable playing for the national team, Janssen might not score with Tottenham but with Holland he does, sometimes players simply can’t adapt to a team’s system it’s like Bergkamp with Inter or Kluivert at Milan.

    I hope Janssen gets more playing minutes next season or maybe the best is for him to leave.

  2. It is really sad that both Vilhena and Toonstra had hell of match…Both must be called as Duracell vilhena and Duracell Toonstra..
    Both were consistently running and suffocating the morrocans,
    Can Snijder can do that?Can strootman can do that??can klassen can do that??and dvay propper was sleeping in the grounfd Vs France.i know Gini will/can do that but People FORGOT THAT EXCELLENT PASS GIVEN BY TOONSTRA TO MEMPHIS Before he dribble past 2 or 1 average morrrocan defenders..
    Vilhena,Toonstra,Deligt(until redcard),Ake had splendid game..
    But still felt we lacked sharpness upfront,the creativity,the venom up front..Memphis really pissed me off with his ball loosing habit at crucial moment..Promes was better..Defensivly we had a wnderful game but attack was really poor…

  3. Keep in mind that this was an exhibition for the understudies. They had to compete against a very physical opponent, and I was pleased with their mentality and resilience.

    They have shown their mettle and demonstrated that they can step in and compete when called upon at the senior level.

    But you must be patient. When we have Robben, Sneijder, Strootman, Wijnaldum and most importantly, Jermaine Lens, then you will see what we can truly achieve.

    Luxembourg will then have the same reaction as Lando Calrissian once did — “That thing is operational”!

    1. Strootman doesnt offer 50% workrate of Toonstra..neither klassen…
      if we play
      Wijnaldum-Klassen/Snijder-Strootman in mdifeild we are doomed..they may be big players but YOU WONT SEE chemistry..
      23 man squad should be now like this
      due injury of Virgil.and Bruma.
      Front six forwards
      Promes—–Janssen—Roben
      Babel——Locadia—Wijnaldum
      ============================
      Vilehna——Ake—-Toonstra
      Blind—-Strootman–Bazoer
      ===============================
      Mensah—Hoedt—De vrij–Tete
      kongolo–Deligt–veltman–Karsdorp
      ===================================
      Zoet-Cllssen-Padt
      =====================================

  5. Look at this list to see that at the moment we have so many choices for CB position, some of them are still very young but playing clean-sheet at their club regularly at senior level that appear x1 line-up so many games, their reign can last until 2030 even if we don’t have anymore emergence at that slot.

    Bruma, van Dijk, Riedewald,de Vrij,Indi,de Ligt,Rekik, van Beek,Kongolo, Gouweleeuw, Fosu, Ake, Hoedt,Blind,Heijden,Juste,Aken,Veltman,Denswil,Luckassen,van Drongelen,Viergever,der Hoorn,Letschert

    I am not sure this is good or not situation, but if we can share this to front-end line then so cool 🙂

    1. Forget Reikik,Gouweleew,Heijden,Denswil,Der Hoorn completely..Martins Indi is useless chaos creator at back..
      Kongolo,Fosu mensah,Blind will play as wing backs..
      Ake and Juste must be promoted to DM..Perhaps Raidwald too.
      Then Compettion are
      Bruma Vs Devrij Vs Deligt
      Virgil Vs Hoedt Vs Mensah..

      1. I just listed out all of possibility who can play CB for our Orange, if you watch Eredivise regularly you could aware Juste/Raidwald/Luckassen/Kongolo/van Drongelen main focus on CB for their club now and they have very big potential as they are still young and clean-sheet at their club

        To me, we can also utilize Gouweleew/Veltman/Martins Indi at CB as they are playing quite well at their club & most important thing is they are original & trained for that role.

        I love to see once day Ake & Fosu to play regularly at DM so that we have more option beside de Roon, Hendrix, Anita, Classie as Strootman, Bazoer, Fer, Wijnaldum, Vilhana, Toornstra, Pröpper, Ginkel they are defining as b-2-b players.

        Cheers,

  6. It’s very exciting to see how Liv, Chelsea, Man city in battle to make our van Dijk to become the most expensive defender ever , gossip now is Pep trump to pay £50m – £60m, and able to offer him a five-year deal worth £180,000-a-week which is £10,000-a-week more than Chelsea are offering and a whopping £50,000-a-week more than Liverpool.

    1. ithe kind of amazing how was overlooked for veltman in the WC by Van Gaal. seriously f every time veltman gets selected, it’s a waste of spot which could have been utilized for a better player with a better ceiling.

      1. Veltman is for RB spot infact he is occupying/Wasting the time of Karsdorp and Tete only.Both i rate better RBs than Veltman.But yes he was opted over Virgil by LVG..Veltman is not a bad choice for CB..he may not be intimidating like Virgil but he can do the Job like Blind does,as the guy is disciplined.
        I would go with Veltman over BMI at any day…Though i am pissed of to see Veltman as RB,i do think he can compete in CB spot in NT.
        Omission of Babel is a question mark for me..We all agree that we lack quality upfront,only real quality we have is Janssen and Roben…Promes is there only due to his enormous work rate..if there is excess quality Babel can be omitted..hey its just mempiss,berghuis etc…
        Babel would have been WISE back up choice for Janssen..
        Another Guy is propper before i go behind klassen..
        Propper got real chance to show his worth for NT vs France.i didnt expect him score or assist,but he was sleeping in the pitch..pathetic way treating NT for giving him chance in a crunch match..
        Then next is klassen,,he can dribble past a player and always shoots in to hands of GK..His work rate is okay but still far less than that of Vilhena and Toonstra..Bazoer is more clinical upfront and he can dribble one or 2 players with ease..instead of klassen NT must give chance to Bazoer..

      2. some players joined up late, as Andrew mentioned below.

        just a little correction: they’re not even on the bench.

        nice though, we can test some players.

  12. Giving Wijnaldum a rest to test new players in a friendly match was a 100% clever,innovative and WISE IDEA..These kind of things never done by stupid Bert van marwijk..so LVG had to clean the shits once he took over from Fart van Marwik..
    Danny Blind has over done it..When he finds a balanced team he will change that team in next matches..i am sure if it was not Blind and Hiddink we could have played in EC2016…

  13. i really dont want to see the next game of we play
    Depay—Dost—Promes
    Wijnaldum–klassen–Strootman
    as starters…
    Wijaldum–klassen-Strootman is a failed combination in every aspect of the game..

  15. caught the the highlights of France vs Paraguay. so many talents have popped up out of nowhere. especially the monaco contingent. I thought it was on the midfield with Progba leading the attack. but looking at this game the full backs and wingers on both flanks were running riot and slaughtering the the defense.

    from what I saw from this game it will only take a team effort with right players to beat this French side.

  16. if we play
    Babel—-Janssen—–Roben
    —-Vilhena—–Toonstra
    ———–Ake————
    Kongolo–Deligt–Devrij–Karsdorp–
    ———–Padt——————–
    We will beat them…

  17. I see that sneijder is playing with galatasaray today, so he joined oranje for the morocco game then went back to turkey? Isn’t that weird? Why didn’t he wait till he finishes with galatasaray today?? I thought usually the clubs wouldn’t allow their players to leave until they are done or there is a break!!

    1. @Alaa..Sneijder is closing in on a Record,he wants his birthday to be celebrated with a record..which is normal i think..so he had to play Vs morroco..May be he would have had a discussion with Galatasray coach as they are in good terms with him and they sent him whole heartedly…this is what happend i think..its my guessing though…

  19. looks like it’s De Vilhena whom will be groomed at DM. really don’t know about his Defensive attributes.

    think Ake is a better option though.

  21. confirmed lineup (OnsOranje)
    Cillessen
    Tete, Veltman, BMI, Blind
    Pröpper, Klaassen, Strootman
    Robben, Janssen, Memphis

    the only surprise is Veltman at CB. it’s been a while.
    it’s still just testing players here and there. my only complaint is the midfield. I think Vilhena-Toornstra-Klaassen will work better.

    I believe De Vrij and Lens are still unavailable up to Lux match. Cillessen is supposed to miss this match too, but he already train w/ the team.

    and Wijnaldum… Sneijder is supposed to play a bit part on this game for the 130th cap, so I don’t think Gini will play today.

    1. I am watching the game, and i cant believe how weak we are playing. especially Proepper is abysmal, even easy passes he cant do. furthermore martin indi has nothing to do in our team, really bad choice++ i am postively surprised about how tete is playing and depay is doing fine ++ please take Proepper out and dont ever invite him in our team again++

  26. BMI just ducked under a shot at one end, and Janssen just won a penalty at the other

    You would think BMI could at least stand still and get hit with the ball.

    Robben buries the PK!!!

  27. goal! Robben!
    nice timing of run from Janssen to draw the foul.

    oh, and please take Propper out. he made 3 failed through ball in a row. either put Toornstra in or push Klaassen back and bring in Wijnaldum.

    and as I finished writing my post, Propper did it again… dammit.

    2. Gentlemen:

      I appreciate your critiques, but I need to thoroughly evaluate all of the midfield candidates and understand their strengths and weaknesses. That is a primary purpose for these friendlies. Trust me though, we are watching the same match 🙂

  32. Our backline is under absolutely no pressure in possession. I was hoping to see them have to work harder with the ball. That said, this particular group is far more athletic than some groups of 4 we’ve used recently at the back…

    Tete has impressed me so far and Janssen has been very active in pressing, but we are still not flowing in attack and still scoring only on set pieces…

    Memphis needs to thankful when Robben actually passes and not complain. That’s twice now that he has wasted chances on killer passes from Robben. Jermaine Lens will not be so wasteful!

    1. Memphis isn’t looking any good. he got frustated by Aurier, thus affecting his concentration.
      if he stays that way, I won’t mind getting Promes in. or even Wijnaldum, just to feed Janssen properly.

      1. It is not the passes themselves but the timing that is off. That can be addressed with more time on the pitch together though.

        My objection was primarily to Memphis’ reactions — if he expects Robben to pass to him at all, he needs to not try to show him up in front of 50,000

        1. hehe i agree though, timing is the key ingredient to a great and sucessfull pass++ yeah he could loose that attitude i agree with ya there

  33. Looks like NT try to play counter attacking football and it seems working, although our midfield looks quite poor…I hope Ivory Coast will add some speed after the half time and we could see how good Oranje is in defense. So far I do not see any good football….

    1. AZ:

      We are experimenting with different styles of play and line-ups against different opponents. The Ivory Coast is a physical and athletic side with a fair amount of skill as well. We have tried to make their strength into their weakness.

      Love your screen name by the way. I was actually thinking of going by “AZ Intermittently” myself

  34. Janssen often shows his un-ruthlessness. whenever he’s free to go for it and there’s a teammate, he always seems to look for pass. he should be a bit selfish, just like Harry Kane.

    …aaand he missed a sitter.

  35. I am loving Robben’s active role in this side. He is showing greater leadership and beginning to direct the flow of the attack.

    I expect Fred to make some changes soon though.

    I’m not certain about Cillessen yet. Still looks nervy to me…

    And Janssen absolutely CANNOT miss that opportunity!

  37. Blind getting up the field more is a pleasing sight. BMI not so much.

    And why does Memphis always wait until a second defender arrives before beginning his dribble?!

      1. Sorry, I don’t understand what you are saying. And I was actually the one who said the defense was under no pressure 😉

        It’s a friendly. Ivory Coast gains nothing sitting back. They should attack and press as well

  41. Klaassen, right place at right time.
    I have no complaints about him tonight. always running around for early pressing.

    now comes Sneijder for his 130th!

  47. Now Ramselaar on for Strootman

    Fred is making full use of the roster and has avoided injuries in preparation of Luxembourg.

    Great job Fred!

  50. Thank you all! Please join us again on Friday as we take on Luxembourg, this time with myself and Mr. Lens in attendance.

    Same time, same place, same result!

  51. Very good second half. Congrats, guys. Hopefully, we will get better and better for the crucial game with France. I do not doubt that we will win LUX.

  52. Joel veltman finally played where he actually belonged..Nice to see things getting in to proper plays…
    My best players of game (Avoiding Roben)
    Tete–Blind-Veltman-Janssen-klassen..they were REALLY good..
    Missfit of the team was as usual Mempiss,BMI and Propper..

  53. It’s just a friendly but it is important to give the team some really needed boost of confidence.

    We can still qualify. Good game.

  54. I don’t think Luxembourg will be any worse than Ivory coast. Robben single handly can take care of them. its the French that they should be worried about. A must win games which could swing the tide into their favour going into the game vs Sweden.

    again bit disappointed not to see Locadia and Van Ginkel get playing time as both are quality players individually and they should be playing lot.looking at some of the players who stamped their mark in this two friendly, it would have great to see them in action too.

    I would like to a midfield of Van Ginkel, Strootman and Ake vs France. Van Dijk should be back by then as he is the rehab phase or if not then De Vrij and Hoedt should start the French game as they play and train together at Lazio.

    another thing too they need to realize is the French have a good bench and a lot of impact players so they need have quality sub as well. the selecation of players should be critical here. if you have players like Propper, Klassen and Veltman, Dost on the bench and expect them to come on and win the game. forget about it. Wijnaldum, Klaassen and Strootman combo is a flop and in doing so Danny Blind also got flopped so not again pliz.

    in the Luxembourg game DA should start the best 11 he has got and use that game as a build up to the French game.

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