Oranje on record run vs Luxembourg

blog WC2018
by Jan

The Dutch need the three points against Luxembourg. Period. All the other story angles are fluff. There is a record to be had as well though. Oranje has won 9 times in a row from Cyprus and Hungary before and can do the same with Luxembourg now. We played each other 16 times in history. With 13 wins for the Orange Lions.  Twice, the Dukes won. In 1963 Luxembourg beat Holland in De Kuip, 0-1. The last victory they had over us. The last two games we played against them though, we only scored once in every game too. In the 2008 Euros qualifications, under Van Basten, we won at home thanks to a Mathijsen goal and in the home game, it was Danny Koevermans who got us the goal and famously, Edwin van der Sar even played for time in the home game, to get the needed win across the line.

Koevermans pre lux

Luxembourg is seen as a football minion but they managed to be despicable in this WC series. They lost against Bulgaria in injury time, only lost 1-0 at home vs Sweden and got the draw vs Belarus! Former Willem II and RKC Waalwijk striker Joachim already has 3 goals to his name.

Jeffrey Bruma remembers the name, vaguely. Different than Griezmann, Gameiro, or Berg and Guidetti. But still a danger. Is Bruma capable of keeping his concentration vs Luxembourg: “Well, this away game will be different than the France or Belgium fixtures of course. Now it’s us who need to make the play. But we’re still Oranje. We are obliged to beat Luxembourg and we will!”.

The Belgium press was clear, after the Holland – Belgium derby. If Belgium could get two players in their team from Holland, they’d pick Van Dijk and Bruma to replace their modest players at the back, Kabasele (Watford) and Ciman (Montreal Impact).

v dijk bruma pre lux

Van Dijk and Bruma turn into a fine pairing at the back. “Well, if Stefan de Vrij is fit, it will still be a battle for a spot,” says Bruma. “But I did play every game under this coach. But I believe in competition. We need to fight for our spot, and I want to make it hard for the team manager.”

The former Chelsea prospect has 24 caps now, but his debut was already back in 2010. Finally, he believes he can be a mainstay. “I came from far. I had to miss a couple of tournaments. Even with Young Oranje. But I will always fight to come back. Same with Wolfsburg. I had a weak start but competed and battled and I’m back at level. I know that mentality is the key.”

Bruma played 11 internationals with Van Dijk at his side and is comfortable. “We do have a good click, on and off the pitch. He’s in the EPL, I’m in the Bundesliga. We both are up against top strikers every week. Luxembourg might be a minion, but watch it. They do have players who are with Schalke 04, Gent, Olympique Lyon, Metz… The time that these guys couldn’t play is over. Joachim is not an amateur. But even without Janssen and Lens and Schaars… we’ve got Robben back. And when Robben is on the pitch, you feel more confident. And the opponent knows what time it is, you know what I mean. They’ll always fear him. He alone can decide matches.”

nl pre lux

Joel Veltman and Marten de Roon

Lens would most likely not have played against Luxembourg. Which is why the Fener winger opted to go for a full match vs Belgium, despite not being 100% fit after a hamstring scare. And after  1 hour of play, the former PSV man got injured again. With the Turkish club furious for the risk Danny Blind took on him. There’s even talk that Blind ignored Dick Advocaat’s wishes to get back at him for leaving Blind high and dry as assistant coach, when he chose the money over loyalty. Danny Blind: “I heard these accusations too and it’s rubbish. I spoke to Dick and he told me Lens had an old knee irritation from his Sunderland days. I told him I wanted to use Lens vs Belgium and not against Luxembourg, and Dick was like “fine”.”

lens pre lux

Arjen Robben is happy to play against Luxembourg. It’s almost exactly one year since his last cap for Oranje. Robben: “I recently heard I have missed almost as many games due to injury as I have played. Incredible. But I’m happy to be fit and hope to stay fit for a long time. Every time I get injured I have to dig deep to come back, but when I do return, it feels like I’ve never been away.” The Bayern star shows confidence with his feet and lips: “It’s not about winning vs Luxembourg for me. It’s about winning with lots of goals. It will help us to create more confidence and moral support from the fans. It was painful to see so many empty spots in the Arena vs Belgium. We need to do better and against Luxembourg we can not allow them to breath even. Grab ‘m by the throat and keep on working them.” When asked if a 10-0 was possible, Robben laughed. “Well, those days are over. Not because we are not capable but the football dwarfs are not that easy to beat anymore. The gap between top and second tier is getting smaller and smaller.”

What does remain a big difference between top and second tier is the quality of the pitches. The Luxembourg pitch was used for a rugby match mere days ago and looks like a potato field. Robben: “We knew this and went a day early to check it out. We’ll be fine.”

virgil pre lux

Danny Blind: “We know the pitch isn’t great, but that will never be an excuse. You simply adapt. You can’t keep on wishing things to be different. It is how it is and we deal with it. We like a pitch that allows for nice passing play, but if it’s not like that, we can’t hide behind that. We’ll deal with it.”

Daley Blind will most likely play his 41st cap for Oranje and will join his dad Danny on the list of most capped internationals. Danny Blind made his Oranje debut against Luxembourg, interestingly enough. Other players to make their debut against the minions are Clarence Seedorf and Pierre van Hooijdonk. Marvin Zeegelaar could well be another one. For Sneijder, there is also a nice record up for grabs. Two actually. He played 125 caps for Oranje and is on his way to beat record international Van der Sar (with 130 caps). Should Wes score against Luxembourg, this would be the 25th nation he will score against. Only Huntelaar and Van Persie are ahead of him on this list.

blind 2 prelux

In the final presser before the game, Bind said he’d return to 4-3-3 for the Luxembourg game. “They will let us have the ball. We will dominate and attack and we’ll do so with three offensive midfielders.” The coach hasn’t released the line up but it seems that Dost will play for Janssen, Robben for Lens and Ramselaar will make his full debut in place of Schaars. It’s also highly likely that the weak Veltman will be replaced by Joshua Brenet, who is a much more attacking option on the flank.

Should Holland win vs Luxembourg (oooh… exciting!) it will jump to the 2nd spot in the group. Blind: “It was disappointing that Sweden couldn’t hold on to the 1-1.  We would have had a good view on the lead in the group. But, whatever France does, we simply need to win our games. And we’re all very aware.”

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81 comments

    1. i read it already..I am not Anti Blind …i think he is playing wrong for NT like kuyt did till LVG came..
      LCB=Virgil>Mensah>=Blind..almost third choice for me.
      RCB=Devrij>Bruma>Blind again third choice…
      LB=Kongolo>Mensah>Blind again third choice
      DM=Strootman>wijnaldum>Blind>Hendrix..He can compete in DM by merit as he has it..IMO yes off course Blind will be there in my team he gives lots of tactical options for switching inbetween games.so he will be there in my team not as first choice or second choice LB or LCB..But as DM and partime LCB.
      I agree Blind is a model to look and he is soclever and hardworking and Humble lad.I am glad that Mensah looks upon him,Why that stupid bodybuilder Depay is not looking upon him?Coz that itself says he is stupid..

  2. Koeman will most likely loan Memphis in January. The boy needs good guidance and hopefully Ronald will do it just fine. After watching friendly against Belgium, Koeman was very critical of Blind’s choices. Particularly, he was questioning why Pieters had not been called up yet. He also said that he still would love to coach NT….

    1. AZ- KOEMAN MIGHT get Memphis..as Koeman is top notch in this area of game.but i think its too late for Memphis as he already destroyed agility and speed of his body,thats so crucial in football to play top level..Just look at Roben..lean fast legs,that 32 year old leg will easily out run Depay..

      1. Actually Koeman also mentioned Daley Blind as well, says he is not saying that Pieters is better than Blind and he understands Daley’s selection because he can also play CB, LB or midfield.

        Also, Blind has called up Pieters before.. so maybe he should do a quick research first haha
        But pretty cool if he thinks he can do for Memphis what that horrible Man Utd club could not.

  3. “”””The Belgium press was clear, after the Holland – Belgium derby. If Belgium could get two players in their team from Holland, they’d pick Van Dijk and Bruma to replace their modest players at the back, Kabasele (Watford) and Ciman (Montreal Impact).”””””””
    that makes real sense…

  4. Speed statistics say that Luke Shaw is the fastest runner in Man United.

    He beats the number two fastest player, Memphis Depay.

    “Luke Shaw has recorded a top speed of 34.13km/h in one of his 186 sprints thus far this season, beating out the likes of Memphis Depay’s 33.78km/h, Wayne Rooney’s 33.54km/h and the measly 33.1km/h set by Chris Smalling.”

    End of story.

    1. Antony martial is faster than Depay for sure..i dont know who made this statistics..Ramos is 30km/hr minmum Pique might also same..so Depay must be 31 or 32 which quite normal for strikers.But wingers it will be 34 and above..
      there are bellarins,kyle walker etc memphis cannt do anything against them when it comes to speed..

      1. I’m not saying there are no faster players Tiju. Don’t muddy the discussion.

        You keep yelling here that Memphis lost his speed due to workouts in the gym. That is your fantasy story.

        Without any proof. No player of an EPL club goes in the gym without the club sanctioning his program.

        Yes Walker is fast. So is Bellerin. That is not the point.

        The point is that Memphis’ stats (formal football sources) say that you were wrong.

        As per usual

        1. @Jan i dont have a written proof for what i said…But look at the players did heavy weightlifting in Gym to get 8 packs and upperbody musccle..Compare them with Cryuff,George best,Roben(i mean compare only speed)..etc…they all look thin and faster..
          In my personal expereince in playing amature football,i belived i was one of the quickest players among the players we had if not the top.i was thin and faster.i went to gym and added muscle exactly i beacme the size of memphis (my height is 1.71meters thouhh)i lost my natural agility,lost little controll on ball,i struggled to do the easy tricks which i used to do with the ball.i lost speed too,which normally was my advantage while on feild..it happend with me..i see Memphis as my mirror image,i feel infact sad for him and i know that we lost him.but whether its memphis or me or anyone.Dutch NT doesnt have to loose coz of this as we have better choices of now..lets give chancees to others and move on in life..

      2. Memphis’ problem is always his decision making. he’s rarely running full speed. yes, he looked slow. but when he wants, even Bellerin can be rivalled.

        he often hesitates, when to run, when to pass.

        Koeman wants him at Everton. I’d say take the chance. forget being MU’s legendary no.7, and make a legend of yourself.

    1. he’s always like that. put him on centerback, and he’ll still do it.
      still hit and miss here and there, but exciting.

      oh, and he was initially played as right midfielder. Sneijder dropped back at attacking MF, Gini moves aside and took Veltman’s responsibility to venture forward.

      so, not actually a wing back. still, nice.

  7. Official lineup v Lux, as projected yesterday:

    Stekelenburg
    Brenet – Bruma – van Dijk – Blind
    Ramselaar – Wijnaldum – Klaassen
    Robben – Dost – Sneijder

  8. The onslaught on our right by Carrasco, Hazard and at time De Bruyne made that Wijnaldum was forced to help out Veltman.

    The players decided this but in the 2nd half Blind rectified it by bringing a 5th defender and sacrificing Klaassen. We played 5-4-1 in the second half.

  9. GooooooooooooooooooooooL GoooooooooooooooooL de Robben! Finally we break the deadlock, after 3 clear chances Robben finally does it for us! Great deflection from Klaasen!

  12. Sad is that every single game since like more then one year, we concede a goal through an incredibly stupid individual mistake! wtf is happening where is our mentality the dutch calm resolve!

  14. I did not watch the first 15 min, but what i have seen so far does not bring any optimism. I do not understand why Oranje play such an apathetic game….such a poor performance. Midfield is awful, they play more backwards than forward. Dost does not get any service, and even when he does, nothing is working. I feel that we dearly miss Janssen and Promes….I also learned that we conceded goal from Luxemburg within last 53 years…. Wow…..

  35. yes it was memphis day or else how could he score header goals…i was expecting memphis to send that free kick to stands but it went in so close to the first post,could have ht the bar though…Evry dog has his day..today belongs to memphis..u need extraordinary luck to get this..

      1. I might add he needs to do better with good defenders and good teams to prove himself.until then its hard to call just from to days game. could giv mou something to think about though from todays game..

    2. Q: How could Depay score header goals?
      A: By using his head.

      Why can’t you give credit where credit is due?
      When can you assess player based on their performance instead of fantasy story?

      He still has potential and I hope this match will help him get back into MU first team.

      1. how many years i should wait to see another header goal from Depay???
        wait for a while about talking potential.all of sudden he scored 2 fluke goals and he is king…i dont buy it..Sorry..it good that still we won by fuke goals from him..
        Full credit to Roben and Blind for first 2 goals…i am following memphis for a long time,he sends everything in to stands by the name of freekick…God want dutch to play in WC2018 thats why Depay scored..End of the story..i dont see any other reason bar that..

  37. Hey Jan,
    Do you see the difference between Ramselaar and David Proper. In my view, David Proper can’t play. On the pitch today, the difference was very clear. I have watched Proper in many occasions, I’ve never seen him made any impact on any game, particularly the one he played for the NT last month.

      1. More sloppy journalism, repeated by a story teller.

        Koeman also mentions in the same interview something about Daley Blind as well – says he is not saying that Pieters is better than Blind and he understands Daley’s selection because he can also play CB, LB or midfield.

        Also, Blind has selected Pieters before, so Koeman is wrong.. maybe he needs to do a quick google check first – haha sound familiar buddy?

        Not that I rule Pieters out – but he also had a very poor start to this season, so not surprised to see him not called back over, say, Kongolo or Blind who were in good form.
        Last spring, Willems had come back into fitness (since has had chances and fallen out of favour), and van Aanholt was doing well. Weird thing to speak out on, the situation for Pieters seems normal, no?

  39. Good result I am happy.

    Memphis was great but he has to keep playing like this if he wants to succeed.

    Dost was bad. I rather play with Promes or Depay as a false center forward.

    I hope RVP gets better because I think he can add some value to the team even as a sub.

  40. Very happy with 3 points to put us into second spot before a big break!

    Nice Robben finish, in only his 3rd start under Blind, followed by a really naive Brenet penalty conceded to Lux, ended a boring 1-1 first half.
    Then a good goal in the header for Memphis from Blind (the blogs’ favourite 2 players connecting perfectly 😂) before his good free kick goal gave us the 3-1 win.
    Hope it gives Memphis some confidence to try to build some momentum on, even if it is against a weaker opponent.
    Many complained about Blind switching Robben and Sneijder out for Memphis and Berghuis. Blind said: “Robben had physical complaints. Sneijder changed because we wanted to keep wider field.”
    Anyway, without that lapse and some better finishing we could have won 5-0.

    Robben says it is not too bad, felt a pinch in his thigh and wanted to continue but the doctors told him not to bother with the risk, since he is still in the end of rebuilding since his last injury yet.
    Good news.

    But, if you ask me there are 2 major issues staring at us here which we need to make sure we don’t hide from just because we have won (there are other issues of course, but less detrimental).

    1 – our midfield problem – again, in attack our passing is kept easily to the outsides.
    Defensively, low pressure on the opponents. And, esp with the attacking mids, we see a lack of off ball movement in possession, so our defenders pass the ball around to eachother, then when the CMs do get the ball they usually pass back or sideways
    https://mobile.twitter.com/11tegen11/status/797900103096803328
    https://mobile.twitter.com/11tegen11/status/797906703496855552
    Sneijder has been on the wing, and I have not been impressed by any of Klaassen (mostly), Propper or Ramselaar yet in this campaign. And although I believe Wijnaldum is quality, he is not as much of a playmaker as he is a worker who adds balance between attack and defence. I think the equation is missing a creator type, and then a little experience of playing together – only 2 times of his 16 matches have we seen Blind able or willing to play the same midfield in back to back matches.

    2 – our defensive concentration lapses, players making really poor errors leading directly to goals.
    I think this is leading to the fact that we have only 1 clean sheet of Blinds’ 16 matches managing, and it was a friendly. Because we had a problem with conceding on free kicks and seemed to have dealt with it, and it seems we have been keeping

    Anyway, here are some other fun facts, courtesy of @OptaJohan:

    12 – The Netherlands have failed to keep a clean sheet in 12 of their 14 competitive games since the 2014 World Cup. Leaks.

    1 – @jeffreybruma is the first Netherlands player to play every single minute in a calendar year since Joris Mathijsen in 2009. Regular.

    3 – Most chances created per 90 mins so far these Euro WC Qualifiers:
    Miralem Pjanic – 6.9
    Quincy Promes – 5.4
    Ilkay Gündogan – 4.8
    Trio.

    5 – Arjen Robben has now scored five goals in his last four games for the Netherlands. Essential.

    3 – Only Vincent Janssen (5) has been involved in more goals for the Netherlands in 2016 than Memphis Depay (3 – 1 goal, 2 assists). Ace.

    1 – Bas Dost has fired in just one shot on target in 252 minutes of play for the Netherlands in 2016 (0 tonight). Ghost.

    And I like this one from @MichielJongsma:
    Some teams are better than the sum of their parts, this Dutch team together is currently about a quarter of their parts.

    1. With Robben playing,I had no doubts about winning as he always in the drivers seat when he is playing. Though there was a feeling of uncertainty when he left,but with a team like Luxembourg,even without Depay somebody would have scored. My top bet Dost if he would haven serviced.

      Definitely don’t think its a important win as it was more a must win match. I don’t think any team in this group will find it hard beating Luxembourg. Beating France or Sweden made be one but looking at overall play of the team till todate under Danny,there is a lot to ponder about.

      Apart from three points there is nothing positive to take from this game. Danny still needs to sort out players especially in the midfield and also in worst case scenarios when there is injury causalities. (backup)

      1. You had no doubts but had uncertainty?

        I disagree, all points are important.
        Bulgaria needed injury time to beat Luxembourg at home, Sweden only 1-0, and they drew awayto Belarus.. so I suppose what you think is not true in this case haha 😂

        1. No doubts- when he was playing

          Un certainty- when he came off with the scores 1-1. In case you didn’t get it.it was surprising though Depay was the unlikely hero.

          In all the games Luxembourg has played they never looked capable of wining and don’t think they will win either. Vs Bulgaria, Luxembourg also equalized in injury time before Bulgaria wrapped it up minutes later so dont think it matters. They won convincingly.same vs Sweden they never looked like scoring until they were reduced to ten man and sweden went on to win.

          Same again vs NT.if not for that penalty don’t think they would have scored from open play either.

          Would rate Belarus and Luxembourg the same.

  41. Great Comment Sybe!!

    Short reaction from me on the game now:

    Happy with three points
    Happy Arjen didn’t get injured badly
    Happy for Memphis (and with Memphis)

    Longer analysis post coming soon (got a full day today)

  42. Emmanual means God with us..i know God is with me always,So i am changing my id name to Emmanual…I am convinced we will qualify for WC after seeing Depay Header..

  43. In case you are wondering: Tiju is now Emmanual.

    God is his hero, but now Memphis is hero #2, if I read his comment correctly.

    From now on, expect Emmanual to have another pet enemy. I’ thinking it will be Robben.

    “Robben is shit. He’s made of glass. His hair style sucks and he is a weak loser.”

    Just kiddin, Emmanual 🙂

    1. what to do Jan i saw a miracle yesterday Memphis header and his free kick went in after 1.5 years…thats miracle for me..
      Roben might be made of glass but he cannot be shit..

  45. lets come back to game as played a horrible match,we lacked creativity upfront..this was down to Dost,klassen and sneijder in the wrong spot…Blind cannot do marauding runs like annholt or williams so that is shutdwon from left.When he delvers a cross that is magnificent..Roben was as usual lone threat,but we lost him soon..Blind needs to drop certain players to find a good team..Depay was so lucky that he got 2 goals.thats fluke from him basically and we cannot depend on that,but it gave us 3 points..thats so important,team never looked like beating luxumburg without Roben…it was lethargic performance over all..
    Blind needs to work on making a water tight defense…
    Brenet is lesser quality player than Kevin diks,so is veltman,But both played for NT and kevin sucks..thats too bad and sad..
    Brenet was an upgrade to veltman but nowhere near our 2 hotspost over in that spot..
    What is Bas Dost is doing..we dont need him i think…Offcourse by the arrival of Lenz,Annholt and Williams we need to forget Depay too.
    Klassen shoul never be selected above Bazoer and vilhena..
    bright spots was ramseelar,Bruma,Virgil..
    stekelnburg made me real scary as he was up in the line always..i know any brlliant striker woul judge it propperly and they will shoot,thanks luxumburg doesnt have such strikeres or midfeilders..So we escaped..

  46. After watching the game I was happy with the three points but overall I was pretty disappointed with our team. Dost was terrible, he looked slow to the ball and always in the wrong spot for crosses, he did not anticipate anything, maybe playing in a shitty league (Portugal) has taken his edge away.
    Klassen, only 1 in 5 touches is any good, this simply is not good enough for NT.
    Brenet looks slow and too casual, a very bad read and sloppy play to give away the pen, Dumbass!
    I’ve said before we can’t rely on Robben and Snjider , as I don’t think they will be playing in two years time when the WC is on, due to injury. Unfortunately they are our world class players ATM which makes life difficult for Blind, we have to hope that Robben defies logic and stays fit and in form because he really makes defenders shudder when he runs at them.
    I was happy enough with Bruma, Virgil and in particular Blind Jr, after a shakey start he really played a smart game with some wonderful crosses into the box.
    Ramselaar impressed me today, he looks lively and was alway looking to create something going forward, mainly in the second half when the subs were made, he was my MOM.
    And credit to Depay for having a decent game and scoring two nice goals, I just hope he can keep,his ego in check and continue to work hard on his game.
    I must say that the pitch was a disgrace and probably had a lot to do with the way we were playing, however there were times when we put some nice short passes together in close quarters , we need more of this, most of the time we are spaced too far apart making the ball carrier look for a killer pass or play back to retain possession.
    So we sit in position 2 going into the break which is great, we just need our best 16 available to secure a top two finish.
    Hup,Holland!

  47. For all the negativity on Klassen, he was actually getting in many goal-scoring oppportunities (Sweden and Lux). That says a lot on his movement and awareness. He was also pretty good in good link-ups play.
    If he had put away those chances, we would now be singing a diff tune on him..
    I believed the team is on the right track..there is now a consistent shape and style of play.

    1. Klassen cannot finish or he can not run with ball like countihno,wijnaldum etc…agree he does posses the intelligence of Vaart and snijder but doesnt have their skills..Bazoer would do better than him,Ramseelar woudl do better than him,Clasie would do better than him,Nauri would do better than him.

  48. Guys,

    Willem van Hanegem did not like how Memphis was celebrating his goals, especially the second one 🙂

    Not sure whether you noticed, but after second goal, when he ran towards the corner of the field and was inviting his teammates to come to him, the former were very reluctant to do that….Looks like they also were irritated by the way how Memphis was celebrating his goal….

    1. Van hanegem has sense,Memphis was showing something people who criticized him with a vengeance.i dont blame him for that,but common this just luxumburg and it was header goal.it happens once in a blue moon vs Brugge,Mitjland,Luxumburg etc…with 6 months interval..

  49. The Dutchman went on to say even though Depay scored two goals he doesn’t think Jose Mourinho will start selecting him.

    “I’ve been irritated by Memphis. A good thing he got two goals, but he did not play that good. I also don’t understand why he was doing those weird things after those goals.

    “I heard the reporter say that Jose Mourinho might start looking differently at Memphis after his two goals. But if he stays at Manchester United there will still no place for him. But what’s sad is that Memphis himself now probably thinks he played very well,” said the Dutch football legend.”””””””
    by Van Hanegem

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