Young Oranje’s puzzle

Coming Monday, Young Oranje plays their quarter finals vs France in the Euros under 21. Coach van de Looi will have to make due without his top performers Cody Gakpo, Noa Lang and Teun Koopmeiners.

If Van de Looi could pick any player that fit the prerequisite, he would be able to field a team wih Gakpo, Lang, Gravenberch, Koopmeiners, Timber, Wijndal, Geertruida, Mo Ihattaren, Zeefuik, Ludo Reis, Donyell Malen and Mathijs de Ligt. Van de Looi would be licking his lips. But this is the fate of a coach at the Young Oranje level. You’re not the priority.

Team manager De Boer and injuries are spanner in the works and the former Groningen coach will have to make do with what he has got. He will stick to his 4-2-2-2 system, with which he played against teams that appear as strong as us, or even stronger. This week he will be finalising his jigsaw for the France game, coming up.

In the group phase, Ajax goalie Scherpen was the number 1 between the sticks, although Paes and Bijlow were the choice goalies during the qualifications. Bijlow suffered some injuries but he will most likely take the #1 spot as he has been without mistakes at Feyenoord, while Paes is still the second goalie at Utrecht. Scherpen was one of the men of the match in the group stages but his outing in Ajax 1, in the EL, didn’t go as planned. Scherpen needs more playing time and with a move to Brighton, this might well be on the cards. Or not.

In defence, I don’t think Van de Looi will change much. Never change a winning team, although the coach has some good options. Jordan Teze at PSV had a top season and Doekhi was one of the key performers at Vitesse. Van de Looi likes to play with the two towering centre backs Schuurs and Botman. No one will complain about Botman, as he just won the title in France with Lille. But Schuurs seems to have dropped in the Ajax hierarchy recently. Still, they used to play together at Young Ajax and both have been goal scorers for Young Oranje as well, so I can understand Van de Looi’s choices.

Left wing was usually Mitchel Bakker’s spot but he’s been quite vulnerable lately and hasn’t impressed with PSG either. Tyrell Malacia is in great form all season and deserves a look in. On the right side, Zeefuik is usually the first choice, but he’s injured. Teze might be the man for the job, as he will most likely replace Dumfries at PSV, should the skipper get his transfer this summer. I wouldn’t be surprised if the coach picks Devyne Rensch for the role. The 18 year old Ajax defender has been raising eyebrows in the past months, with his runs, his defending and his goals!

Van de Looi has been sticking to his firm squad, which also resulted in Jay Gorter (Go Ahead) and Pascal Struijk (Leeds United) not getting a spot, but he might now change his ways and allow for players in form to come into the team.

“We’re at the end of a tough season, and some lads have been playing a lot of games for the first time in their career. We need to see how everyone is, in terms of fitness and energy. Intensity will be key against an opponent like France.”

In the 4-2-2-2 the crucial roles are in that holding position. The engine room. In an ideal world, Erwin would play Gravenberch and Koopmeiners there. Now, the coach needs to pick his B options, although it’s not a fair label to push onto Abdou Harroui. The Sparta midfielder had his break out season and is on his way to a big transfer. He’s a light footed tackler, with lots of feeling in both feet. With Harroui, you get football and you get security.

Other options are Ekkelenkamp (Ajax), Matusiwa (ex Ajax, now Groningen) or Kadioglu. Dani de Wit can play there too but the coach expects to need him up front. Kadioglu is highly praised by Van de Looi and Ekkelenkamp is also a player who is able to squeeze good performances from the 4 forwards, thanks to his passing range.

Up front, there is two blocks of two. Two so-called half-10s and two strikers. Calvin Stengs is a cert for one of the half 10 roles. Noa Lang would probably be a shoe in for the other part. Up front, Justin Kluivert seems to be the firm choice with either Boadu or Dani de Wit next to him.

The former Groningen defender copped criticism for using De Wit as number 9. “He might not be a typical striker, but Dani has these penetrating runs, and you don’t see these enough. We missed that in our games vs Romania and Germany. Due to Noa Lang’s injury, the solution offers itself: Stengs and De Wit as half 10s and Boadu and Kluivert leading the line. Kadioglu and Dilrosun could also play in the half 10 role and if need be, Van de Looi also has Kaj Sierhuis at his disposal. This is a physically strong typical #9, which can work against a physical side that is France. The draw back is that the former Ajax striker hasn’t played much for Reims and when he did, he hardly scored.

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74 comments

  1. Cant under estimate Austria as well. They have big Bundasliga contingent.

    Goalkeepers: Daniel Bachmann (Watford), Pavao Pervan (Wolfsburg), Alexander Schlager (LASK)

    Defenders: David Alaba (Bayern Munich), Aleksandar Dragovic (Leverkusen), Marco Friedl (Werder Bremen), Martin Hinteregger (Eintracht Frankfurt), Stefan Lainer (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Philipp Lienhart (Freiburg), Stefan Posch (Hoffenheim), Christopher Trimmel (Union Berlin), Andreas Ulmer (Salzburg)

    Midfielders: Julian Baumgartlinger (Leverkusen), Christoph Baumgartner (Hoffenheim), Florian Grillitsch (Hoffenheim), Stefan Ilsanker (Eintracht Frankfurt), Konrad Laimer (Leipzig), Valentino Lazaro (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Marcel Sabitzer (Leipzig), Louis Schaub (Luzern), Xaver Schlager (Wolfsburg), Alessandro Schöpf (Schalke)

    Forwards: Marko Arnautovic (Shanghai), Michael Gregoritsch (Augsburg), Sasa Kalajdzic (Stuttgart), Karim Onisiwo (Mainz)

    North Macedonia Euro 2020 squad: full 26-man list
    GK: Stole Dimitrievski (Rayo Vallecano)
    GK: Damjan Siskovski (Doxa)
    GK: Risto Jankov (Rabotnichki)
    DF: Stefan Ristovski (Dinamo Zagreb)
    DF: Kire Ristevski (Ujpest)
    DF: Gjoko Zajkov (Charleroi)
    DF: Ezgjan Alioski (Leeds United)
    DF: Visar Musliu (Fehervar)
    DF: Darko Velkovski (Rijeka)
    DF: Egzon Bejtulai (Shkendija)
    MF: Ferhan Hasani (Partizani)
    MF: Stefan Spirovski (AEK)
    MF: Enis Bardhi (Levante)
    MF: Boban Nikolov (Lecce)
    MF: Tihomir Kostadinov (Ružomberok)
    MF: Elif Elmas (Napoli)
    MF: Arijan Ademi (Dinamo Zagreb)
    MF: Darko Curlinov (Stuttgart)
    MF: Marjan Radeski (Akademija Pandev)
    MF: Daniel Avramovski (Kayserispor)
    FW: Goran Pandev (Genoa)
    FW: Aleksandar Trajkovski (Mallorca)
    FW: Krste Velkoski (Sarajevo)
    FW: Vlatko Stojanovski (Chambly)
    FW: Ivan Trickovski (AEK Larnaca)
    FW: Milan Ristovski (Spartak Trnava)

    Their danger man off course being veteran striker Goran Padev.they beat germany earlier in April and shouldnt be taken lightly either.

  2. @Jan

    Your source for this.

    “Left wing was usually Mitchel Bakker’s spot but he’s been quite vulnerable lately and hasn’t impressed with PSG either”

    1. 1-Bakker is lacking games since pochetino..
      2-Tyrell starts for Feynoord.
      3- Tyrell has better crossess
      4- Tyrell is faster than Bakker
      5-Tyrell can dribble past 1 or 2 easily
      6-Despite being short stature he is incredibly strong and could be our Evra..the guy is amazing..
      1–Bakker with ball is joke
      2-No craetivity..
      3-Just average LB….
      luckily he plays for Psg and that will end soon…Ajax got rid of him that says a lot..
      U21 team is better without him…Team looks more productive when they play Tyrell

      1. Thanks Jan’s source. But sorry. This is what happens when uou dont follow and keep spilling garbage as ever without knowing whats going around. Malacia is a good attacking fullback I admit but defensively is a liability.

        1. I’m not sure what you mean Wilson? My source? That would be the Voetbal International site, the authority in Holland on Dutch football. Bakker didn’t impress in his last matches for Young Oranje and I saw him play in the semis for the CL (was it the first leg): he was not great man! Let me know what your point is?

          1. Its true he didnt impress in group matches for young orange and he was also out of favour under Pocettinho having played very little when he got called up for the euros. Could have been a factor.

            https://www.whoscored.com/Players/352830/Show/Mitchel-Bakker

            This is his stats for the after math of the euros till the end of the season. Nothing flashy but I think his stands in a better position now and stats look more better to that of before euros and at the same having played in CL with big guns.

            I watched the both legs of bayen and city clash and thought he was composed enough for a 20 year old, locking horns with household name wingers coman, Sane and Mahrez etc. He did have few nervy moments, I think vs city in the first leg but he also did a good job keeping Mahrez quiet.

            I have watched alot of PSG games, and there is no way he needs to bring more flare to his attacking game and balance it with defensive which is his stronghold.

            PSG has confirmed he will be released but that depends who is the coach come the start of new season.even if he departs I think he has gained considerable experience which I dont think he would have attained given in the pecking order at Ajax.

            If he departs then he should look for competitive club where he can play more regularly and build on to from where he leaves off.

          2. “I have watched alot of PSG games, and there is no way he vunerable.

            He just needs to bring more flare to his attacking game and balance it with defensive which is his stronghold”

  3. Italy thrashed San Marino 7-0 and Mancini rotated the whole squad and started with fringe players and including few debutants in the starting 11 from the extended squad. By the way he hasnt announced his final 26 yet. I have long admired how mancini has developed the Italian team based on rotation and we have people here on this blog who think its stupidity to rotate players on regular basis. besides injuries

    1. Scotland Euro 2020 squad: full 26-man team
      GK: Graig Gordon (Hearts)
      GK: David Marshall (Derby County)
      GK: Jon McLaughlin (Rangers)
      DF: Liam Cooper (Leeds)
      DF: Nathan Patterson (Rangers)
      DF: Andy Robertson (Liverpool)
      DF: Grant Hanley (Norwich City)
      DF: Scott McKenna (Nottingham Forest)
      DF: Stephen O’Donnell (Motherwell)
      DF: Kieran Tierney (Arsenal)
      DF: Declan Gallagher (Motherwell)
      DF: Greg Taylor (Celtic)
      DF: Jack Hendry (Oostende)
      MF: Billy Gilmour (Chelsea)
      MF: John McGinn (Aston Villa)
      MF: Callum McGregor (Celtic)
      MF: Stuart Armstrong (Southampton)
      MF: Scott McTominay (Manchester United)
      MF: David Turnbull
      MF: Ryan Christie (Celtic)
      MF: John Fleck (Sheffield United)
      FW: Ryan Fraser (Newcastle United)
      FW: Lyndon Dykes (Queens Park Rangers)

      The NT warmup vs them should be intresting. Strong midfield and back line

          1. They primarily deploy 3-5-2 with robertson as wing back and tierney and Mactominay as make shift CB.

    1. Tbh I think Mou needs to be very careful with is transfers. Roma has been linked with alot of players whom have played under him or whom he knows. Roma has alot of good players, some whom are injured and some whom are out on loan. To forgetting those in the current squad. Jordan Veretout has been a revelation for Roma in the midfield along side pellegrini.

      What Roma need is good CBs and maybe a good backup striker for Dzeko or vice versa.

  4. @Wilson, it is time for you to realize that Bakker is an awful player. This is the last time I post about this topic. Rensch is 1000 times ahead of him and frankly is the one who should be playing LB. He should have been in the senior Oranje squad as well. Bottom line, time for you to drop “your” Bakker and move on. He will disappear and die a slow death a la Van Der Horn!

    1. The only reason Im keeping a close tab on him is simply because he is playing for PSG and off course in CL. Only with more players playing at top/ highest level will see NT close the gap with other big nations and increase likehood of winning a major tournament.

      Like I said I have watched a lot of PSG games and yes his technical abilities looks to be limited atm but you have to give him some benefit of doubt, jumping from a second tier to playing with bigs names and at the highest level. He still has time to improve like many other defenders who had a slow start to their career.also I dont think so any 19 0r 20 year old would have stated with a bang at that level.

      1. I watched both QF and SF where he played. Here is my thought. Defensively, he is ok, not strong, not bad. He does not steal the ball or stop the opponents from playing, but he also does not get them get past him. Offensively, he is not good. He can’t cross, he cannot dribble, he is not comfortable with the ball at his feet. You can tell that his teammates hesitate to give him the ball because they know he will pass backward. My verdict is he need to develop his offensive skill or he will be gone in 2 years.

          1. @Jeff. It’s ridiculous to think that Rensch should be Holland’s LB. He’s good, yes. He’s talented, yes. He could be one of the best LB’s in the world…. in a few years.

            But right now, he’s 17 and uncapped, and playing someone like that at the highest level is how mistakes happen, maybe you remember de Ligt vs Bulgaria.

    2. I agree on Bakker. I saw him play in those knock out games for PSG and his touch is more wooden than Dumfries, he has wayward passes, Neymar and Mbappe were screaming at him, at times. He’s clumsy on the ball and not good enough, simply. It’s not a crime, Wilson. He is a nice guy and will do well at Rennes or at Stuttgart or Brugge but he’s not top notch material. Rensch is way more talented, indeed. I think Wijndal and Malacia will be the future left backs.

      1. Few things to note. Bakker’s stats under Tuchel was quiet exceptional playing regularly under him. this proves with more consistency and regular playing time he can get better

        https://www.whoscored.com/Players/352830/MatchStatistics/Mitchel-Bakker

        check out his ratings from September until to the end of December under Tuchel. its quiet good. this is why I said he should look for club where he can play regularly and build on his consistency and work on his areas of deficiencies . he has made a big jump from youth level to playing at the highest level and its obvious his inexperience will be contributing factor to his performances playing with the big names and off course at CL level. Its also clear that it has come too early for him and he needs to make up for the gap or the jump he has made. maybe then it would be worth assessing him again.

        Even if you look at PSG home grown players like Collin Dogba (22) who plays RB. he is totally opposite to Bakker and more attacking orientated player but similarly to Bakker, his inexperience has also let him down as well.

        coming back at eredivisie and looking at the trend from the past seasons. everybody is highly rated in Ajax until such time somebody better pops up and relegates him to the bench and once this happens they are either offloaded or sold for right price. t Van Rhijn, Tete,Veltman. All were highly rated and all got the nod for NT till they were playing at Ajax . look at them now after they moved on from Ajax. this will the fate of everyone and this cycle will continue unless they move abroad and prove otherwise. if they remain in eredivsie for long, they will again become stagnant and sooner or later will be surpassed by someone else. (Van Rijin case). you look at Dumfries (25) for example , this is his third season at PSV and sooner or later he will have to make that move and that will be his defining step of his career. if he fades away, some body else will take over his reign. You see how this will keep affecting the NT.

        there is always big hype when it comes to Ajax players but not everybody has lived up to expectation. again this has been a trend over the years and their trajectory declines as they move to other clubs.

  5. Massive truimph for chelsea snd Tuchel. PSG must shaking their heads letting him go. Kai Harvetz proving many doubters wrong. Again a master stroke from Tuchel taking over from lampard and resurrecting the german contingent.

    Nothing to be taken away from city, good team as well. Also Given the English contingent in both team, is this the year for England football to lift the euros and also birth of their next golden generation.

  6. Does it come to anyone’s mind that we only have Wijnaldum, VVD and Robben played CL finals the last 10 years. Compared to Portugal, we are so behind now. Both Portugal and Netherlands are affected by Bosman rule, but somehow they find a way to stay relevant.

      1. I mean Portgual football has been affected by Bosman rule but they are not as bad as us. They consistently produce great footballer that played CL finals. They also won Euro recently. For us, the last 10 years, there are 3 players played in CL finals. There is really big gap in our production line.

        1. Im remember writing a good post on this but forgot where I posted this. Portguese clubs have the luxury of two teams qualifying season after season in CL. porto and benfica are both pretty much like Ajax in eredivisie with their academics again producing young talents like Ajax and above all they keep playing at CL level contionously. This is where their development is at better and faster rate and again with home grown players. Sporting also are in the same boat who often either end up playing in europa or if not again in CL.

          The brazilian influence in the league also makes it more competitive if compared to eredivisie.

  7. @Derekvdberg91, I never said he should be the LB for the senior team. I said he should be the starting LB for Jong Oranje ahead of Bakker and Malacia. I also said andd maintained he should have been one of the 26 players for the senior team because he can play everywhere from RB to LB and CB. The fact he is uncapped has no impact whatsoever. Gakpo and Timber were never capped either. So what?

  8. Peter Bosz will inherit a good team at Lyon. He just needs one good transfer and that is to find a good replacement for Depay or somebody of his quality. I hope he doesnt end up like van bommel who making a lot of noise demanding players and the first name being berghuis.

  9. As much as I love Dutch managers at the foreign clubs, they shouldn’t show blind allegiance to Dutch players unless they are going to add value to team.

  10. Dutch team better so far but failed to score in two very good chances. Even though France looks so much better on paper they aren’t looking anything special.

    Rightfully so Stengs was left out of the Euro 2020 squad!

    Teze doesn’t help much going forward! Rensch needs to come in if we don’t score as he will increase the pressure on the French defense with his runs.

    1. Yep, Stengs had some opportunities, and Kluivert had the best one (nice set up by Schurrs). For a guy his size, Botman has (so far) comfortably handled the French speed, impressive. IMO, Malacia has been the best player in the Dutch side.

  11. JO has controlled the game very well. Domimated possession as well but they are not hitting on the target.

    Kluivert, what a miss. I think this phase when schuurs opened up the defense and played through kluivert was the only big chance that JO created.

    Backline had been good. Harroui’s workrate has been excellent and has been doing all the dirty job.

    The attacking mid looks to be a area of concern as boadu seems to getting isolated. Upmencano seems to be keeping a good check on him. He also looks like a school boy in front of him.kadigolu also has been quiet. They need to bring boadu more in the game.

    Stengs has had few decents shots on goal but needs to be more creative.

  12. Wow! Boadu!…but the build up from Stengs and Kluivert—perfect.

    btw, my mistake on Boadu’s first goal. I thought it had come to him via deflection—saw on replay that I was wrong.

    Full marks to the CB’s all day, and the mf really dug in and worked all game. Bijlow looked very good. Could easily see him moving up the NT GK hierarchy.

    1. I was full swearing at van der looi for not bring on dilrosun and instead going with with tatical switch. Indeed a beautiful setup and thats what stengs can do.

  13. I actually missed the first goal and only come to know when the played the replay. France were dominate in the second half and agree Bijlow kept them in the game.

  14. Bijlow, Boadu definitely increasing their transfer value. Stengs was there, but I don’t think he over-performed. Malacia, Teze and Harroui were great.

    1. Schuurs outstanding as well. Made the critical block against Ikone. I liked Harraoui and Kadioglu. But the team ran out of gas in the last 20 min. Lucky to have scored the winner.

      1. That was big error from Botman.schuurs was defintely more composed of the two.

        Malacia was explosive and good on the ball but like I said defensively he looks light weight and again that incident where he first got injured was man handled. I would say he is upgrade to bakker atm.

        1. Actually thought Botman was better than Schurrs in the first half. In the 2nd, Schurrs was the better of the two, topped off by the fantastic play he made covering Botman’s error Rare for a defender to play an untroubled game, especially against as good a team as France put out there. But they were a very good pairing over the 90 minutes.

          We’ll disagree on Malacia defensively. I thought he was solid, especially in the opening half, dealing with players coming at him one on one, and covering alot of ground to close down space.

          Jeff is right, the team was tired at the end.

  15. A great win. In the broadcast I watched, one of the announcers noted that according to Transfermarkt, the transfer value of the French Squad is appr. $500 million. The two CB’s alone are going to Liverpool and Bayern for almost 100 mil. Yet, Boadu found the space/opportunity to pop in two goals against the aforementioned CB’s. Real goal scorer’s goals.

    Agree that France had the better of the play for the majority of the game, but there were still phases where the Oranje U21 were on top. They played with alot of heart and never scared. Terrific effort.

    1. Veerman simply doesnt want to play for JO. He wants to play with big boys and is prioritizing his transfer. Ihattarren case is complex.
      Hope to see simons next season.

  16. According to Dutch media, Tyrell Malacia was man of the match. Good goals by Boadu, Kluivert was nice and busy. Stengs need to add some venom to his game. He plays like he’s on a holiday somewhere and needs to put some pepper up his arse. Schuurs and Bijlow are top quality players and Teze is a prospect as well. I rate Harroui too, even though he might not have been in top form.

    Great win and lets see where this takes them.

    1. Malacia was really good! Very explosive when going forward and did quite well defensively. Teze strong defensively even though France threatened on his side many times. Stengs wasn’t helping him much though. My problem with Teze was that offensively he doesn’t have that speed to make those runs that a full back needs to have. Most times he plays it safe and made the game too predictable. Timber would have been an upgrade on the right as he has all the qualities needed for that position. Schuurs was good and saved the team from Ikones shot with that sliding tackle to prevent the French from scoring their second. Botman did well also! If it wasn’t for the mistake he made by allowing Ikone to go past he he would have had a great game.

      Very impressed with Harraoui! He completed 90% of his passes and together with De Wit worked tirelessly in midfield. I expected more from Kadioglou to be honest.

      As for our forwards, Stengs didn’t impress me at all! Some very lazy passing, wasn’t helping much defensively and he did miss two chances that he should have done better. Kluivert wasn’t great also but one thing that I liked was that he constantly kept pressing! He also had a nice assist on that second goal.
      Even though Boady got 2 goals he wasn’t good also! I understand playing against Upamecano and Konate isn’t easy but I expected more. At times he was too static and seemed lazy when putting pressure on the CB’s. Nevertheless his two shots two goals was the difference maker.

      Lastly great game from Bijlow!

        1. No doubt about it but at the same time he needs to stop being so static and hustle a bit more. His movement off the ball was nowhere to be seen. It
          felt as if he was hiding behind the CB’s. There were times he was just walking while the French CB was moving the ball upfield. If he wants to be a good player he needs to change a few things in his game.

  17. Mitchel Bakker 5/10: Came on for Malacia and did not do himself justice. Presented France with chances and gave away a silly foul throw. Got forward once but his attempted cross was comical……….
    He was comedy when going forward…No talnet basically thats the issue here..
    ==
    Tyrell Malacia 8/10: A great performance from the left-back, who was tenacious throughout and left his mark on the game at both ends. A player who has had a good campaign at club level and is now excelling for the U21’s. Wasn’t a surprise that Netherlands looked shaky when Malacia went off and Mitchel Bakker came on…..
    i started folowing Malacia some time ago…He man handdled Tadic,Neres,antony…from that day i knew this guy is special a Patrice Evra type,Edgar davids type…Infact he is better than Winjdal….

  18. Harroui is better than Reis…i hope everyone seen that today….
    For me worst player was kluivert and bakker…Stengs looks like in holiday mood, but this guy is a game changer ,stengs will have lazy 89 minutes and 1 minute excellency will kill the game of the opponnet….thats quality…thats the uqlaity bakker types doesnt have…Bakker cannot improve,stengs can…
    yes We have one more RB better than Dumbfry and shitboer….
    Teze is head and shoulder above these 2 less than average luck riders…
    Rensch,karsdorp,Teze…..
    Malacia,Winjdal,Blind,Sinkgraven,Jetro
    thats luxuary

  19. Great achievement by the U21! Hope the senior team can achieve likewise. Never watched the game and judging from what spoken here, seems the team rode their luck somehow. But this is how tournament works. Not always the best team will win in the knock-out. Hope the same applies to the senior team when they face the heavyweights in the euros.

  20. Never watched a single game of Oranje U21 but when I saw two goals from Myron decided to give a shot. Watched a replay. I was very impressed with our defense, including Bijlow. Botman and Schuurs are colossal. I am a big fan of strong and tall central defenders and this duet is really impressive. I liked Malacia but Bakker is good too. When Bakker was introduced, French did not win any tall balls. Teze was OK. Midfield was disappointing and U21 really missed Koopmeiners. I was also disappointed by Kluivert. Many people here asks more from Stengs but that is his style: bright splashes followed by long interval of invisibility. I think the area of improvement is to reduce those intervals. Myron was fantastic. Especially loved his second goal. However, the main thanks goes to coach,
    Erwin van de Looi. He is a man who was able to bring a lot of discipline into this team. Last 15 min, NED played very uncharacteristic game for Oranje in general: deliberately went back to wait for the counter and it worked! Really happy for Oranje and AZ.

    1. I was writing on that about bakker and nobody picked it up on that but stopped because we have talked in detail about him and I think Kevin rightfully mentioned about it in the previous blog. cant disagree with the ratings as well.

      this was also my first game to watch Botman and imo he needs to work on his ball control at feet. he looks uncomfortable in this area when under pressure otherwise he is solid. also if Kik Pierie can work on his physical strength, I think he will surpass him.

      the germans dont look to be as strong as the JO on paper but it may well come down to how much both games has taken its toll on both teams. the germans went through the extra time and JO also looked to be out of gas before boadu came up with the winner.JO should have slight advantage given the next game is in three days time but im bit skeptical about the depth on the JO bench. Dilrosun is the only impact player they have on the bench and the rest are mostly coverup options.

      1. the germans wont be as physical as the french but given the last meeting in the group stage was very tight, it could well be a close game again.

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