Tag: Deschamps

by Jan

Naive Oranje humiliated in France

The number of times I had to write “boys v men” on this blog in the past decade is simply not funny anymore. Rafael van der Vaart compared our game v France with youth football.

This virus plagued Oranje got hammered by a lethal France and only have themselves to blame. Debutant Geertruida and youngster Xavi Simons are two of the players who scored a decent rating. Most of the others disappointed gravely in an avalanche of errors.

When Daley Blind is the cause for the only positive aspect of this game, you know we’re in trouble. Daley got his 100th cap for Oranje and joins the Oranje elite (behind Sneijder, Van der Sar, De Boer, Van der Vaart, Van Bronckhorst, Kuyt, Van Persie and Cocu and just in front of Robben).

In the 21st minute, when we’re trailing 3-0 against Les Blues, the stats tell the story: Holland has close to 70% possession of the ball. France has 3 shots on goal. Holland has 4 shots on goal. France has 3 goals. Oranje zero, nada, zilch.

We dominated the ball but France scored the goals. Deschamps gets the game he dreamed of, with The Netherlands gifting Coman, Kolo Muani and Mbappe all options to counter attack with their speed.

Koeman’s line up surprised a bit. Berghuis as winger/midfielder was a surprise to me, I expected Xavi Simons there. And I expected Malen, with his speed as well. I hoped for Wieffer but he wasn’t 100%, so Koeman decided against him and picked Taylor. Gravenberch was added to the squad late, after Veerman had to depart due to the gastro virus, but Taylor had more games at Ajax. De Roon was an obvious choice. But to play Geertruida and Timber “against type” was another surprise.

Oranje’s 70% possession didn’t do much for us. Why, because the French coach had a good idea which Dutch player to allow the ball. Griezmann covers Taylor (like he used to do on Frenkie) and De Roon is the man in midfield allowed to build up. Not his strength.

Another remarkable aspect: Koeman wants his full backs to remain wide and hugging the line. Ake on the left and Timber on the right usually play more inside as full backs (like Malacia at Man U and Geertruida at Feyenoord). Playing so wide means that the centre backs Geertruida and Van Dijk have difficulties reaching the wide man and regularly only see De Roon as their outlet. Again, not the man where you want the build up to start.

And this happened under Koeman I as well: the moment De Roon is played in, the French midfielders pounce hoping for a mistake. And this is exactly what happens in the first 90 seconds when Holland is patiently kicking the ball around.

The ball is on the right flank. Taylor omits to look over his shoulder, he only sees the ball. He is played in and is totally obliviousto Griezmann making a go for the ball. He passes square to De Roon who is hijacked by Rabiot and two passes later it’s 1-0. Also check the video to see how Taylor jogs back instead of busting a lung to mark Griezmann who ended up scoring their first goal.

The second goal is also the result of an error. It’s Cillesen this time who should be able to just collect the ball from a free kick from the right. But the NEC goalie misjudges the ball and the leather bounces from his arm onto the oncoming Upamecano: 2-0. An error yes, but at least one that you can sympathise with. A number of attackers and defenders were jumping in front of Cillesen, obstructing his views. A mistake like this is easily made. But … not nice to be 2-0 down after 9 minutes.

The free kick, from where this goal came, was the result of another positional error by the team. As you can see below.

Van Dijk is trying to play the offside- Liverpool style. But Timber and Geertruida have other ideas, probably due to the speed of MBappe and Coman. The pass is good, towards Coman and Geertruida makes the foul.

This miscommunication is typical for a team that doesn’t show any unity in thinking and doing. The players are too busy with their own individual role and don’t seem to see the bigger picture.

The third goal is after we see a variant used by Koeman in his first period, with a holding mid (normally Frenkie) dropping deep next to the central defenders to start the build up. This used to work, with powerhouse Dumfries high up the right channel. With Timber, it’s less logical. The Ajax central defender is best in the axis of the field. Why Koeman switched Geertruida and Timber is anyone’s guess.

This is just before the goal. Geertruida carries the ball. De Roon takes Timber’s spot. No one in midfield is open, so Geertruida is looking for Timber who is free. But the pass lacks pace, Hernandez read it well and sprints full swing to intercept the ball. In terms of numbers, this should not be a problem, as we have De Roon, Geertruida, Van Dijk and Ake in the defensive organisation while Taylor is also behind the ball. But still we get in trouble, as the players are not ideally positioned and Taylor does not coach his team mates like for instance De Roon or De Jong do in Oranje, or Kokcu at Feyenoord. So no one puts pressure on Tchouameni, the task of Wijnaldum. And when MBappe is at full speed, it’s De Roon who needs to track back, not something he does well. De Roon also lacks the speed needed. Muani lets the ball run and Mbappe gobbles it up: 3-0.

Koeman then switches Timber and Geertruida back to their usual positions and brings Weghorst for the disappointing Taylor, to spice things up a bit. It’s a bit too little too late, as France knows the match is won and they do take their foot off the gas. Therefore, it’s hard to judge the eleven that play the remainder of the game for us.

The game ends with another amateuristic error: a risky pass forward by Van Dijk, miscontrol by Memphis and he seems to pay the perfect assist to his friend MBappe who scores a superb 4-0.

Memphis missing a late penalty for Oranje is typical for the teams performance, on a night when everything we do fails.

Holland doesn’t have the calibre players that France have. As the saying goes: the better team will win against the better individuals. Sadly, Holland also doesn’t have the better team…

 

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by Jan

Orange Masterclass vs World Champs!

You know you did something right when even national team manager Ronald Koeman says that it was an exceptional performance. I think it’s fair to say Holland played one of the best games in many years.

It clicked. It’s all working out. The mix of experience and youthful exuberance, the seasoned and shrewd Babel, the focused Cillesen, mercurial Memphis, disciplined Blind and the ridiculously talented De Jong and De Ligt… Working under a no-nonsense pragmatic coach as Ronald Koeman with warrior Van Dijk as his lieutenant… Simply perfection.

If it wasn’t for Lloris, we could have won 5-0. And how good is it, to not only beat France, but to also have Germany relegated at the same time… Ah, the sweet smell of revenge.

Koeman was quite cautious after the 3-0 beating of Germany. “It was good but not the whole game. We had good spells and lesser spells. We are improving but I want to see more of the good and less of the not-so-good.” This time, after becoming the first nation to beat the newly crowned Champions of the World, he couldn’t hide his enthusiasm and praised his team. “I can not fault them on anything. We played a perfect game and every single player was playing great. I am very happy and proud and we have definitely turned a corner. We can develop into a great team with a bright future.”

Koeman can indeed be proud of what the team achieved:

  • We are the reason Germany got relegated
  • Oranje will stay in this Division A
  • Oranje is certain of being in Pot 1 for Euro qualifiers
  • Oranje is the first team to beat World Champions France
  • A big jump in the FIFA ranking
  • A draw vs Germany means Holland will be in the Nations League
  • The end of a series of defeats vs France

 

The win in Rotterdam means it’s the 15th game in a row won in De Kuip. In the last 15 matches played in the Johan Cruyff Arena, Oranje lost 7 matches. In 2018, Memphis was involved in half of all the goals Oranje scored. Including his stats for Lyon, Depay was involved in 41 goals (23 scored, 18 assisted) in 52 matches.

Hugo Lloris needed 9 saves against Holland, the highest level of saves for France since 2008.

The Dutch media praised the performance. The terms “magnificent” and “reborn” and “master class” were used to describe what Holland achieved. “As if Oranje drank from the well of confidence. But apart from the execution, this team also oozes warmth and sympathy. This is a team with class, who bonded as friends, this is finally a real team. This might well be the biggest difference compared to the post 2014 Oranje teams we saw being humiliated. It was balanced, disciplined, focused, but also with balls. And France? They played like Iceland plays. But without the passion. The World Champs didn’t dazzle us with quality in Russia and has further slipped into apathy.”

De Telegraaf mentions the only weak point of Oranje: “They could and should have scored more. This is something to work on. Otherwise the victory was sensational. With a world class performance by Memphis. Everytime Depay was played in, the French panicked. He had continuously two markers close to him, but it didn’t stop him.” The normally modest and puritan Trouw wrote that Koeman has transformed a weak performing collective of players into a team, playing with their brains, their qualities and with passion and purpose. “This was a good night in the natural home of Oranje: De Kuip.”

De Volkskrant: “And coming Tuesday, Holland can beat Germany again and win this Group. Who would have predicted this 3 months ago? Not only did we beat and relegate Germany, we also beat the world champions with a last second Panenka by Memphis.”

The international media picked up on the performance as well. The French papers speak of a the ruthless Orange Lion tearing the French cock to pieces. The French federation president admitted that France had deservedly been beaten by a better opponent. “Holland was better on every level this time around. Pure class.”

Skysports: “A rampant Holland didn’t give France a chance, with man of the match performances by Frenkie de Jong, Memphis Depay and Denzel Dumfries.”

Marca in Spain: “In the Dutch football temple, Holland hadn’t lost for 15 matches and this 16th match was a victory as well. No one took notice of Holland anymore, but there are some young tulips coming up and they shine more bright than ever. Holland played France completely drunk.”

El Mundo Deportivo was focused on Frenkie de Jong: “De Jong is a modern playmaker, he can dribble, he can pass and is always on the move. Uncharacteristically for a playmaker, he is also happy to tackle and put in a shift for the team.”

France coach Deschamps was quite clear: “We didn’t have any claim on anything today. We were deservedly beaten by a better Holland, It’s not an excuse that we missed players. We should have competed more, even with the players who were fit to play. Holland simply wanted it more.”

So how did we do it?

Koeman found a way for Oranje to dominate, without committing too many players forward allowing the French to counter attack. Deschamps will have thought: Holland at home, they want to win, they want to attack and we’ll pick ‘m off.

The French trap usually consists of 3 controlling midfielders, 2 fast wide forwards (Mbappe, Griezmann) and a strong target man upfront (Giroud). Not unlike PSV’s tactics.

Koeman’s preparation was all about the balance between having enough players around the ball to control the game, while having enough players back to stop the counter. In his pre-match talk he told the players this will probably be “the most difficult match, so far!”.

The French set up. Four defenders, a bank of 3 controlling midfielders, Mbappe and Griezmann in front of these guys and Giroud up top

Koeman’s mantra: always have three players in the last line of defence. The build up will be done by Blind, De Roon, De Jong, Van Dijk or De Ligt. Out of these 5, there always needs to be 3 together at the back. Denzel Dumfries strength is all about bombing forward on the flank, allowing Bergwijn to come inside to assist either Memphis or the midfield.

Babel on the left would remain on the flank, as Blind is less of a forward bulldozering full back, but whenever Blind would move forward, and he would do so with gusto at times, Babel would also move inside, to stop their counter should we lose possession.

Even if only Giroud was up front, with Mbappe and Griezmann tucking back in to support midfield, Oranje would never play naive and keep 3 players with Giroud to protect the space.

On our own half, always three man behind the ball. This time with Frenkie as the first build up go-to guy.

Once Oranje brings the ball well into the French half, would be the moment when Holland would allow two defenders with Giroud but keep two controlling mids close to the centre backs (usually De Roon and De Jong, with Wijnaldum further forward).

This time, it’s De Roon as the third “central defender” with De Jong roaming in between the lines.

This way, the Dutch would crowd the midfield enough to stop counters from happening, while the tactical smarts of De Roon and De Jong would protect the space.

Before the half time break, this tactics did results in a chess match, a tactical game of sorts, less entertaining than the Dutch usually like it. With Koeman, it’s results before entertainment.

After Holland scored, Deschamps makes some changes to go from the 4-5-1 to a 4-4-2 and it’s then when Oranje is capable of playing in between their lines and create havoc.

This time, Blind also drops deep to offer an option, as he realises De Roon could dribble into midfield. Notice Dumfries positioning higher up the park.

Once Oranje loses possession they pressure high to win the ball back and if that fails, Babel and Bergwijn – the oldest Soldier of Orange and one of the youngest ones – fall back into a wide full back role to guard the space. Highly disciplined and tactically astute. A good example of how far Dutch football has gone. Babel resurrected his career with aplomb and Bergwijn is already playing at an astonishing mature level.

An early chance! Notice how 5 Oranje players are in front of the ball, with only Van Dijk and De Ligt in defence, and De Jong and de Roon protecting those two. Blind is moving into the French half. This is where Koeman allowed the Dutch to take risks.

Ronald Koeman deserves praise for ending the naivety that so characterised Dutch football recently. He knows, that in today’s game, it’s the turn around that is key. It’s loss of possession, individual errors and dead ball situations that will be key. And this match also showed that playing with patience, with tactical discipline and organisation can lead to an entertaining match.

A great view on Oranje’s movement when losing possession. Both full backs (Blind and Dumfries) came inside to put pressure on the French axis (with Blind challenging for the ball. Babel is playing left full back, while our centre backs go into position to sniff out the forward pass.

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by Jan

France’ vulnerabilities

We played many classic games vs the French. 28 matches in total, we won 10 of them, we lost 13. Only 4 matches ended in a draw. The goal difference is ours though: 54-47.

The big thing though, we lost the last five matches against them. That is a sorry tale. And France is the only opponent against which this happened.

For Holland, anything is possible in this Nations League. We can finish third and get relegated, or we could top the group. All to play for. After 17 months, we finally have a game in De Kuip again. The last 14 matches we played there, we won. The last draw was in 2007, against Romania and our last defeat was in 2000, losing 0-2 vs Portugal under Louis van Gaal. Mathijs de Ligt was just 1 year old then.

Should we win the group, we will be part of the first Nation League final tournament. At this point, no nation is certain yet of the spot in that tournament. Should we draw against Germany, we are certain of a longer stay in the Division A.

The top ten of the final table will result in the group heads for the Euros 2020 qualification. And this is exactly what Koeman is focusing on. At the moment, we are on No. 9, with Iceland (number 12) already not longer capable of overtaking us. Should we beat France, we’re quite certain to be group leader for the Euros qualification.

Anyway, France… How to beat them?

France won the World Cup and France is capable to field 4 equally strong teams with eleven amazing players, if they wanted to. They have some of the most exciting and best forwards (Martial, Lacazette, Mbappe), the most exhilarating midfielders (Griezmann, Pogba, Kante), one of the best goalies (Lloris) etc etc.

However, their game plan is never exciting. They conceded 16 goals this calendar year. They were lucky vs Australia at the World Cup they only scored once vs Peru and got a boring draw against Denmark. It’s a counter team, a team that re-acts, not so much acts.

The only exciting World Cup memory of France was when Argentina happened to lead with 1-2 by a fluke and France had to play football.

Deschamps is the type of coach that knows that his team will be most vulnerable if they lose possession. Statistically, most goals are conceded only seconds after losing possession. So he almost gives the ball to the opponent voluntarily, so France can be the counter-attacking team in the match.

For a top team, practically conceding one goal per game is quite bad.

Goal #1 Colombia –  Luis Muriel

In the first friendly of the year, Colombia’s  Luis Muriel has the opportunity to cross the ball in from the left wing. France’ full back Sibide simply offers to much space to the winger and his cross results in chaos in the French box. Sanzchez flies in to try and volley the ball in but misses. Lloris realises the cross will curl in, but he does so too late. Remarkable: there are nine French players in the box (incl the goalie) but none can stop the ball from curling in.

Goal #2 Colombia – Radamel Falcao

The second Colombia goal is the typical example goal Deschamps wants to rule out. France is in possession, Kante in midfield is looking for the outball. He wants to play in Matuidi but is too late. He’s put under pressure, the pass is too late, the Colombian midfielder Sanchez plays James in who finds Falcao for a tap in. This goal epitomises everything Deschamps loathes.

Goal #3 Colombia – Juan Quintero

Counter attack by Colombia. France is tracking back. Full back Sidibe is in front of the ball and Varane decides to step up to put pressure on Izquierdo. The latter shoots, gets the ball back from a ricochet and ends up penetrating the French box. Umtiti wants to block or tackle but gets it wrong. He misses the ball but gets the right leg of Izquierdo and the ref points to the spot.

Goal #4 Russia – Fyodor Smolov

France loses possession and six French players track back. Wingback Smolnikov bombs forward and crosses the ball to the left flank where Smolov has a simple finish. What is striking, is the complete chaos in the French defence. Umtiti is ball watching on the edge of the box. Tolisso is too late back. France is in disarray.

Goal #5 Italy Leonardo Bonucci

Again, France loses the ball and Italy is on the turn around. Two Italians vs four French players. Balotelli wants to take on Kante, and feels Umtiti in his back. Balotelli acts Comedia Del’ Arte and gets the free kick. The ball is hit with force straight at Lloris who flaps at it and allows Bonucci an easy tap in. Again, Umtiti’s wild defending and Lloris’ sloppiness are on display again.

Goal #6  USA  Julian Green

France is dominating in the game and could have had 4 goals in the first half. Still, Team USA gets the first goal. By accident, the US right back Moore gets the ball in his stride as a result of an unlucky Kante block. He crosses the ball to the penalty spot. Sidibe wants to clear the ball but slips and Julian Green shoots on goal from a difficult angle. The ball goes through Sidibe’s legs and in the near corner, where Lloris again looks weak.

Goal #7 Australia Mile Jedinak

France gets the first goal after a debatable VAR decision. When Australia gets a free kick, Pogba alone forms the wall. There are eight French players in the box, keeping an eye on 5 Aussie players. When Mooy aims the ball in no mans land between last line of defence and the goalie, Umtiti panics and flaps at the ball. The Barcelona defender’s third questionable action. France would win this thanks to a fluke goal, which just passed the goal line by half an inch.

Goal #8 Argentina Angel di Maria

France is leading and decides to allow Argentina the ball. The French are close to their own box and are happy for Messi and co to dribble and play away from the box on the flanks. When Tagliafico gets a throw in, the ball ends up with Angel di Maria, some 35 meters from goal. He gets time to shoot and pick his angle. A world class goal, yes, but one wonders: why did France pull back this much and why wasn’t there any pressure on the ball?

Goal #9 Argentina Gabriel Mercado

A fluke goal, but the result of France offering Argentina the ball. Di Maria is instructed to go one on one with the young French defender, winning a free kick. The free kick ends up with Messi who shoots on goal and via some pinball ricochets past Umtiti – him again – the ball is deflected by Mercado and goes into the net.

Goal #10 Argentina Sergio Aguero

It’s 4-2 now. Pavard had a wondergoal and Mbappe demonstrated his value, twice. Only 22 minutes to go, for France to hold on to the score line. Griezmann and Mbappe are already subbed and France uses the two forwards to be annoying, with two blocks of 4 players behind them. Messi sees a gap in the box, as Varane leaves too much space. The cross is pitch perfect and Aguero scores a relatively simple goal. In the last minutes of the game, France is clearly rocked and struggling to keep Argentina from equalising.

Goal #11 Croatia Ivan Perisic

France is leading 1-0. Pavard loses the ball by playing it too far ahead and wants to make good by putting pressure on the opponent. The Croatian defender Vida decides to hoof the ball forward. Mandzukic heads the ball forward and Perisic is off. Kante recognises the danger and fouls the winger. The free kick results in Hernandez losing the first header while Umtiti loses the second and Perisic gets the ball on the edge of the box. He takes on Kante and scores with his left.

Goal #12 Croatia Mario Mandzukic

The finals are done. France leads 4-1. Mandzukic believes in it, though and puts pressure on France. He runs on to Umtiti and when he plays the back pass, the Juve forward puts pressure on Lloris. The Spurs goalie wants to take Mandzukic on and trick the forward. He fails and Lloris again is involved in a goal that didn’t need to happen.

Goal #13 The Netherlands  Ryan Babel

Again, a goal scored in the turn around. Tete has the ball. Mendy puts pressure on Tete who uses Depay – who dropped deep – for the 1-2 combination. The Lyon defender uses the space vacated by Mendy while Babel makes a run to get into the space vacated by Memphis. All in high intensity. The cross is perfect and Babel’s finish is too. Holland uses the French tactics – slowly putting the opponent to sleep and then pounce – to great success.

Goal #14 Iceland Birkir Bjarnason

A friendly vs Iceland. Deschamps uses different players, offers players a chance who haven’t gotten a lot of playing time. Pogba and Kante are rested. The result is chaos. France has most possession, 64%. But Iceland has the opportunities. Iceland defends en groupe and waits for the mistakes and errors. Finnbogason is too slick for Kimpembe and passes the ball to Bjarnason who passes the ball into the net.

Goal #15 Iceland Kari Arnason

Varane stays in the dressing room at half time and Zouma comes in for the Madrid centre back. Iceland’s major weapon, the dead ball situation. Sigurdsson crosses the ball in, perfectly. Arnason makes a run into the space and beats Kimpembe. Only 30 mins to go and Iceland is leading 0-2. Deschamps immediately brings his talisman Mbappe. The youngster turns the 0-2 scoreline into 2-2.

Goal #16 Germany Toni Kroos

This goal is again a typical French goal to concede. France wants to play out of the back via the central axis. Kimpembe passes the ball to Pogba which is the sign for Germany to put pressure on. Kroos flicks the ball away from Pogba, Gnabry takes the ball and passes into Sane, on full speed. Kimpembe wants to control the damage with a wild tackle to block the ball and handles it. Kroos converts the penalty.

Who will play vs Holland?

Mendy, Hernandez, Umtiti, Pogba, Tolisso, Martial, Lacazette and Coman will all be absent due to injuries. It seems Deschamps will use the World Cup winning line up bar three players. Digne will probably play  for Hernandez on the left flank, and Kimpembe will probably play for Umtiti. Griezmann will most likely annoy Frenkie de Jong, while Giroud will be stepping on the toes of Van Dijk and De Ligt. Giroud is Deschamps go to striker, not so much for his goals, but for his work ethics.

Lloris is a top line goalie with sensational reflexes but at times he becomes almost clownesque when having to leave his goal area. Kimpembe is quick and strong but doesn’t play a lot at PSG. Right full back Pavard is usually a centre back with his club Stuttgart. He’s weak in the one on one and has trouble making the right decisions in terms of positioning.

Without Pogba, all creativity is gone from midfield. Kante is world class as box to box player and tackler but he’s not the playmaker and takes too much time when under pressure. N’Zonzi will play for Pogba but he also is not your typical creative 10. Deschamps goes for control and Holland will want Kante to be the man for the build up.

I personally believe Holland will stop the rot against France. No defeat this time. I go for a win, but it could end up being a draw. We’ll take either.

I believe we will be sharp, eager and aggressive. I can see Memphis score again and Bergwijn too this time. I think we’ll play with:

Babel – Memphis – Bergwijn

De Roon – Wijnaldum – De Jong

Blind  – Van Dijk – De Ligt – Dumfries

Cillesen

I will predict a 2-1 win for Oranje. All goals by us. Own goal De Ligt, for the fun of it.

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