Almost there… For me, 2 more sleeps. Below is the final visit to the WC past of the Dutch.
As intro, a quick look at the game for the Oranje. I mentioned it a couple of times already, I believe Japan is a tough cookie sushi roll and they might even be a contender for a top 4 position. They’re very motivated, disciplined, quick and gifted. I’ve seen them play England and Brazil and if that Japan shows up, we will have our hands full.
Still, I do think Japan will play with a low block and allow us the ball. If that is the case, if they decide to abandon their high press/high octane football (due to the weather), we will have the game in hand. All we need to do is find a way to score (oops) and ways to stop them from doing the same. But they’re good on the transition and they do know how to defend. It all matters how Koeman will go about things.
IF – big If – the Japanese play with a low block, I would play Brobbey with Kluivert as a 10 and Malen on the right wing. At some point, it will make sense to bring Summerville for Malen. We need the power of Brobbey in the box and the movement and individual skill of a Kluivert to get through the Japanese defensive wall.
However, is Japan plays a high press and one v one on the pitch, Malen would be better suited for the #9 role. With Reijnders as a 10. Tough choices. I am happy I am not Koeman (for multiple reasons).
Either way, I say 3-0 for the Dutch, but it could easily go totally wong and end up 0-3 for Japan. I’m getting nervous AND excited.
The Qatar was a weird World Cup. Played in winter. In a country not known for its football culture, but known for it’s intolerance against certain types of people. Despite many misgivings from many people (including players, politicians and celebs, the Dutch went and tried to make history.
As a Dutch football fan, the 2022 World Cup in Qatar carried a special kind of weight. It felt like the final chapter for a generation. Louis van Gaal, the old master, had returned for one last mission. Virgil van Dijk, Memphis Depay, Frenkie de Jong, and Steven Bergwijn were in their prime. And a young Cody Gakpo was about to explode onto the world stage.
This was supposed to be the tournament where the Netherlands finally went all the way again. It didn’t happen — but damn, it was one hell of a ride.
The Context: A Team in Transition
After the disappointment of missing the 2018 World Cup entirely and a quarter-final exit at Euro 2020 under Frank de Boer, Van Gaal was brought back in 2021. At 71 years old and battling serious illness, he took charge with typical confidence. His mission: turn a talented but inconsistent squad into a real contender.
Van Gaal reverted to the 3-5-2 / 5-3-2 system that had served him so well in 2014. With Virgil van Dijk anchoring the defence, Nathan Aké and Jurriën Timber as the other centre-backs, and wing-backs Daley Blind and Denzel Dumfries providing width, the system was built for control and counter-attacks.
Group Stage: Professional but Not Dominant
Match 1 – Senegal 0–2 Netherlands A solid opening win. Cody Gakpo scored his first World Cup goal, and Davy Klaassen added the second. It was a professional performance — controlled, clinical, and exactly what Van Gaal demanded.
Jean Venette, what do you call the assist for the 1-0?
Match 2 – Netherlands 1–1 Ecuador A frustrating draw. The Netherlands dominated possession but struggled to break down a well-organised Ecuador side. Gakpo scored again, but it felt like a missed opportunity.
Match 3 – Netherlands 2–0 Qatar A comfortable win to top the group. Gakpo scored his third goal of the tournament, becoming the first Dutch player since Dennis Bergkamp in 1998 to score in three consecutive World Cup matches.
The Dutch advanced to the Round of 16 with 7 points — not spectacular, but efficient.
Round of 16: USA 1–3 Netherlands
This was the moment the tournament came alive for Oranje fans.
The United States started brightly, but the Dutch hit them with devastating counter-attacks. Memphis Depay opened the scoring, Haji Wright equalised for the USA, but then the floodgates opened. Daley Blind and Denzel Dumfries both scored beautiful goals. The 3-1 victory was convincing and full of attacking quality.
Suddenly, the Netherlands looked like genuine contenders again.
Quarter-Final: Argentina 2–2 Netherlands (4–3 on penalties)
This was pure drama. One of the best knockout matches in recent World Cup history. But also heart break galore again. Do you remember Van Gaals decisions versus Portugal in 2001? He wanted to be smart with his subs? And humiliate Portugal?
We played with the hand break on during the match but when we got 2-0 down, Van Gaal went for it. He brought Weghorst and pushed the team forward. In a short time span, we got back to 2-2 and extra time.
But…. Van Gaal went back to plan A in the extra time and applied the hand break yet again. We kept Argentina alive.
The Dutch pushed hard, but couldn’t find a winner. In the penalty shootout, Argentina held their nerve. Lautaro Martínez scored the decisive kick.
The dream ended there — again on penalties, just like in 2014. And again after some strange decision making by Van Gaal.
Final Verdict and Legacy
The 2022 Netherlands team finished the tournament with 5 wins, 1 draw, and 1 loss. They scored 10 goals and showed moments of real quality, especially in the knockout stages.
Cody Gakpo emerged as a star, finishing with 3 goals. Virgil van Dijk was immense at the back. Memphis Depay showed flashes of his best form. But once again, the Dutch fell just short of the semi-finals.
For Louis van Gaal, it was his final tournament as a coach. He had taken the team from near-chaos to a quarter-final appearance while battling prostate cancer. That in itself was remarkable.
The 2022 campaign wasn’t as magical as 2014, but it carried its own beauty — a team that grew during the tournament, showed character under pressure, and reminded us why we still believe in this Oranje side, even when they break our hearts.
We didn’t win the World Cup. But for a few weeks in November and December, Dutch football felt alive again.
And in the end, that’s what matters most.
3-0 Jan, you are very optimistic…. I think it will be a draw, I would say 1-1
Well done!
Honestly, I don’t have a feel exactly how the match will turn out, bc I don’t know which Holland team will turn up. Will it be insipid team or a team raring to go. For many years, we have ended up disappointed after a seemingly confident, chest pumping interviews from the players.
It’s almost like a dutch thing, since this is what Arne Slot’s and Van Dijk’s Liverpool is this season, telling the team is ready to recover for the next match, only to come short when the actual match starts.
The trend and statistics (goals scored) don’t make for confidence either.
Still, beyond all these facts, I wish for a surprise, starting with Vs Japan. We shouldn’t let Japan play to their rhythm, and MUST manage the tempo of the game. We shouldn’t fight fire with fire (in this case speed with speed), and just move the balls around, stay compact and not be reckless.
Certainly don’t wish to see an open game.
As with others, I think success or failure will have less to do with talent than mentality. After the conclusion of the South Korea/Czechia match, the players on both sides were spent, lying, sitting, bent over, all over the fiedl. Thats the effort the NT needs to be out; play with energy and a chip on their shoulder, and belief. If they play in that languid, not totally focused, manner—where the other team plays with more energy and intensity—that they showed too often in the qualifiers (and the last 2 warm ups), they won’t end up being anything other than a blip on this world cup.
OT: Japan won’t have to make any concessions to the weather for their playing style. The Dallas stadium is indoors and climate controlled.
Curacao scores! (1-1)
Curaçao punching above their weight but just some glaring defensive errors. Germany will punish those every time. Hopefully curaçao can stay in the match
I think this may be the toughest match of our group. Japan is very up and coming in the football world. I doubt they will cede possession or control to us and will try to dominate the ball. This will be a very interesting matchup and will be an early indicator of how far we can progress in this WC
Alright guys, let’s do this.
Reijnders, Grabenberch and Dumfries essentially unused / invisible so far. If we’re going to be forced to the wings all match, we might have been better off with Weghorst
40 mins so far. Past one hydration break! FIFA’s addition to cater to sponsors and advertisers. Maybe good for the players to refresh in hot temps, but kinda stops the flow of the game. Dallas Cowboys stadium is basically a nice cool indoor facility.
Anyways, Japan is happy to sit back and defend, hoping to counter on the break. Malen had one decent chance. It was a strong shot, but no angle on it. It went straight at the keeper. If that had gone in, it would have broken the tension.
So far, it all Oranje. Side to side movement like a pendulum. I personally don’t like that very high line where everyone is in the opponent’s side of the field. A single good breakout from Japan can cause issues.
Again, the forward passing and diagonal passing is not creating much combinations. Broken up by the opponent quickly just like Algeria was doing. Gakpo is stuck in that left wing. He is getting double teamed most of the time. He needs to move into the center and let Malen play left winger. He’s a tall target man. Change up the game here and there. Don’t be predictable.
On a positive note. At least we look solid defensively. Van Hecke is controlling our right side so far. Van de Ven also solid so far. I like a big fast left back. Summerville with a few crosses and dribbling. Frenkie trying to make something happen in the middle but the Japanese are packing the field. Gravenbech and Reijnders not much to show so far. We need to make corners, freekicks, crosses into the box matter. It will be difficult to break this defense down Barcelona style. We need a goal to calm this game ASAP
I feel like we’re just not combining/ collaborating well. Dumfries and Summerville not in the same page, same with Gakpo and Malen. Will be interesting to see if changes are made or if we’re just content to pass the ball around in a big U for the rest of the match. Jan was right about Japan’s tactics but I feel like they will become more adventurous, especially if we are not able to offer any real scoring threat
Japan apparently have more players playing in the Eredivisie than we do 😉
I’m told that Gravenberch had 13 touches in the first half but I don’t remember any of them.
De Jong has 53 but mainly just short passes with van Dijk and van Hecke
Gravenberch must have heard me!
GGGGOOOOAAAALLLLL!!!!! Van Dijk!
Wow, what a goal that was. Perfect pass from Gravenberch to pick VVD out inch perfect! That’s what this game needed!
Damn
SUMMMEEERRRRVVILLLEEEE!!!
Gravenberch involved again to set things up
Summerville!!!
We just made three subs at once and I cant tell who’s playing what — Memphis, Timber and Koopmeiners
We are in complete formational disarray! And we concede in the final minutes
Just when you think they some how hold on, they give up a goal. Sad. Agree that was a bad formation with the subs. Why take off Summerville? He was the one disrupting the Japanese defense.
Yep; I can’t see the rhyme or reason behind the three substitutions during the hydration break. 22 minutes is too long to sit back and defend.
It was self-sabotage by substitution. What was Koopmeiners doing? What was Timber doing? There was zero organization when we needed it most. Just stupidity defensively while simultaneously subbing off all out attacking threats 🤯
I’m sure this feels a win for Japan. You can see it in their players after the game. Their fans are elated. Koeman with a horrible incompetent substitutions. The game commentator was pointing it out, the post game commentators pointing it out here in the US broadcast. None of the ones he brought on did anything.
Huge advantage to give Japan a chance to win the group. To be honest, I never understood Quentin Timber. Never seen him do anything special. Maybe try Kluivert instead. Memphis is done Koeman! You don’t bring him in a tight game like that. Gakpo has to be the most predictable player on the planet now. No adjustments from Koeman or Gakpo himself.
Sad, sad, sad. I have to say Koeman lost the game. That’s the feeling. Maybe I’m overreacting in the moment. At this point, we need a foreign manager. Someone that can see things outside of this stubborn Dutch coaching mentality.
Yep, it does feel like Koeman dropped two points for us. When Japan was ready for the slaughter, he took Summerville off, right when Malen would get more space, he brings Memphis. Just like 2004 all over again, when Advocaat subbed Robben. Damn!!!
Right after Koeman announced his squad, I pointed out how illogical the selection was. He brought too many injured and out-of-form players to a tournament where the heat and schedule would inevitably require fresh legs. What happened against Japan was exactly what many feared.
Around the 70th minute, with the Netherlands leading, Koeman looked to refresh the team. The players he turned to were Depay, Koopmeiners, and Timber. Timber was the only substitution that made sense. Depay looks completely past his best. Instead of occupying the striker position, he kept drifting into midfield, repeatedly losing possession. Koopmeiners was used almost like an inverted winger, while Dumfries was pushed into a more advanced role on the right. Watching Dumfries try to provide width and crosses was painful.
With both Depay and Koopmeiners dropping deeper, the Netherlands effectively handed control of the game back to Japan. Japan could push higher and higher because there was no threat to stretch them. Koeman’s response? He switched to a 5-3-2 and replaced Gravenberch with Aké, which only invited even more pressure.
Look at the lineup at that point. You had Aké returning, Koopmeiners lacking rhythm, and a washed-up Depay on the pitch. Then look at the bench. What alternatives did Koeman really leave himself with? Lang is also out of rhythm. Kluivert’s fitness remains questionable. The remaining options were Weghorst and De Roon. Later, he brought on Brobbey for Gakpo, allowing Depay to drop even deeper into midfield, where he continued giving the ball away. Eventually, the inevitable happened.
And that brings us back to Depay. Why spend so much time discussing him? Because his presence influences everything else. The current striker hierarchy appears to be Malen, then Depay, then Brobbey, then Weghorst. It’s almost as if Weghorst is only there for emergencies.
The bigger issue is that Depay was never supposed to be a backup option. Koeman wanted him as a starter. His ideal setup was Depay at striker and Malen on the right wing, with Summerville left on the bench. As a result, he has spent an enormous amount of time trying to force a declining player into the team instead of building around the players who are actually performing.
It’s a depressing reflection of the current state of Dutch football. There is still talent in this squad, but we keep ending up with the same questionable choices on the touchline. First Frank de Boer, now Koeman. The players are far from perfect, but it’s hard to ignore how often the Netherlands handicaps itself before a ball is even kicked.