Oranje didn’t win against Spain on 20 March 2025, but in a way, we actually did. This was the best game Oranje played in Koeman’s second period as team manager and it offered us a good look into the future. Why did Oranje swing, this time?
1.The Solutions found by Frenkie de Jong
I’m sure Koeman will look back at spring last year, when Frenkie hurt his ankle and eventually missed the Euros. Whoever was still doubting, I think it’s clear now: Oranje has difficulties without the Barca playmaker.
Koeman experimented with different options, like Veerman, Schouten, with Xavi on 10 (Koopmeiners was also missing) but the key to the Clockwork Orange was injured at home in Spain.
Against this Spain, Frenkie demonstrated why he is so dominant. He helped Holland play out from under the Spain press and started all the attacking impulses. Hardly ever did he lose the ball, he is still very agile in turning away from opponents and finds the best solution easily. He was subbed after 74 minutes, indicating he is still not 100% after his stomach bug, from last weekend.
“I was surprised myself, how well it went,” he said, looking back at his issue from the weekend. His stats were amaing. He had the most touches of all players, second to JP van Hecke. He had the most passes and the most successful passes towards the Spanish half.
Koeman: “Frenkie was like we know him. And I told him, just let me know if you want to take a rest and he did. We want him back on the pitch on Sunday, of course. He really adds value to the team, his intelligence and timing of the pass, how he delays. But he is also top in the press. We haven’t been able to play with our best axis in the team, with Frenkie in other words. He’s a key player for us.”
2. The Composure of JP van Hecke
Frenkie’s partner in playing out from under the Spanish press. The Brighton and Hove Albion defender is used to playing a build up pass under pressure. He looks relaxed and obviously has a good rapport with goalie and team mate Bart Verbruggen. The latter did a good job, with maybe some question marks re: the equaliser of Spain.
Van Hecke had the most touches ( 71). He won 5 of 6 personal duels and his pass accuracy is close to 95%. 13 times, he found a proper forward build up pass With Van Hecke next to Van Dijk, we have a central duo that has the swagger to play forward and push forward.
Van Dijk also defended quite far in front of his own goal. De Vrij is capable to do what Van Hecke does, while De Ligt is more a defender when we play against a classic #9, with aerial strength.
In this way, Oranje managed to keep pressure on the Spanish side and keep the ball. Koeman: “In the last years, there has been no team with more ball possession than Spain. That stat alone gives me confidence.”
3. Justin Kluivert’s energy
There was also a player whose game couldn’t be summed up in stats. The Bournemouth player didn’t make an impression in data, but through his overall play. Kluivert is a 10, with legs, allowing his team mates to play better.
He was constantly on the move, against Spain. Both in attacking as in defensive sense. He gave the assist to Cody Gakpo for the equaliser, by keeping calm in the box and keeping his a keen eye on the situation. And when he lost the ball in the 66st minute, he started a phenomenal sprint to win the ball back. The number 10s we have seen before him lack the energy he demonstrated.
With Frenkie and Reijnders – who scored and also reached top level – we have a dynamic midfield, which has everything: energy, skills and a focus on goals.
People following the EPL won’t be surprised to see this Kluivert. At Bournemouth, his coach Iraola gives him the freedom in this role and Koeman mentioned before he really enjoys watching Bournemouth play. He thought Kluivert fully deserved his starting position as a result of his performances in the toughest league in the world.
4. The Threat of Jeremy Frimpong
The biggest change-maker was the right forward. Jeremy Frimpong gave Marc Cucurella a tough night. He was unstoppable. He created 4 chances and had the most successful dribbles. Koeman always saw Frimpong as an attacking player, not as a defender. The Bayer Leverkusen player has everything: he can transition quickly, he is super quick and physically strong. He won most of his duels (11).
Koeman: “When you can play him in fast, and he can go one to one towards the back, he is lethal. And you saw how he kept the vision, with the second goal assist? He has so much threat and intelligence and with his speed he is an awesome weapon for us.”
The Mestalla Challenge
Sometimes, coincidences help coaches to find the right solution. Stefan de Vrij and Nathan Ake were not available so Koeman picked Van Hecke. Ryan Gravenberch had to leave the Oranje camp and this opened things up for Kluivert. Dumfries unavailable, resulted in the right side of Oranje with Geertruida and Frimpong. The former assisting the latter in playing a top match.
And thus, this first match against favorites Spain didn’t result in a win, but the added goodwill against the reigning European champs can work wonders. And Koeman will have learned a great deal from his players. The next goal: consistency!
Sunday, Oranje can show in the Mestalla venue that the performance in De Kuip was not a coincidence, but a sign of great things to come.
Jan, Nice article as Always! Agreed with all you said and hopefully the return leg the team continues on the trajectory and we all fans will not end up in dismay again.
Also, the new webpage really gives the site a new breathe of life!
Thanks Jan..Kluivert was so massive, He create chaos for any defense..Doesn’t whine like Xavi simmons..
We played our Best game in last 5 years.. without Dumfries..dont you see the irony?? Dumfries cannot play like Timber,Geertruida and Frimpong.. He is very poor on ball.. Zero press resistance. Dumfries should be third choice behind Timber and Geertuida in picking order. Frimpong should play as winger.
Yes Jan, Sunday will be a very interesting game, lets see what it will bring us. We absolutely played a strong game! Unfortunally Hato at 19 years old learned the hard lessons of the top football game. Memphis seemed to be very slow, lets see if Brobbey will start on Sunday. Lots of energy together with the other young lions….
I have had similar thoughts on Dumfries and expressed these here. He’s a great right back for a transition team. But if you want to play possession football, he is a liability. His strengths: energy, speed, endurance, aerial strength. His weakness: the final pass, hard feet, lack of vision. He needs too much time when the spaces are limited. But we can’t compare him to Geertruida who is more like a Blind type back: good build up pass, good vision and intelligence. If you want to play reaction football ( Van Gaal in 2014), Dumfries is amazing, but I personally prefer the current set up.
Question: People really rate Hato. Liverpool might want to get him in as Robertson replacement. Do you all see it? I have trouble seeing him as a top notch player. Please explain
I think Hato has potential. But moving to Liverpool next season might kill his career. He is not there yet and we can see that from his game in Europa and against Spain. If he decide to move, it will be better to move to a mid table club like Brighton or Bournemouth. They will give him more time to adapt and he can afford more errors and learn from it.
Agree 100% with Kevin, its a massive step from Ajax to Liverpool. Better to first go to a smaller UK team, or stay 1 more year at Ajax, where it is 100% sure he will play all games, and then will be prepared for the World Cup in 2026. Also next season Ajax will play Champions League as well, a great tournament where he can show off his skills…
So true. Emegha is quick and if we want to play free flowing football, he is the best option that we have. I am also curious to hear what you think about using Zirkzee as a false 9. He is getting back to good form at United. He does not score enough goals but his hold up play is good and we have other players who can score like Gakpo, Kluivert, Reijnders and Frimpong.
I’m a big Zirkzee fan. Picked the wrong club (Man U) I think he would fair better at Arsenal or any Spanish or Italian side. But I think he’s top class. Maybe he would have done better in the 1990s, with his particular style of play.
Hato not a like-for like replacement for Robertson. His traits are combative, technical on the ball and able to morph into CB. the latter could be what Slot wants in his LB as an alternate variant in how he wants Liverpool to play. Controlled, not always playing on front foot.
Hato is more like that Lucas Hernandez hybrid style CB/LB. Even some early scout reports I’ve read had him as a Gvardiol comparable. Much will depend on where he moves from either this summer or next.
“Question: People really rate Hato. Liverpool might want to get him in as Robertson replacement. Do you all see it? I have trouble seeing him as a top notch player. Please explain”
Is hato, Robertson esque. Simply no but as usually it’s a dutch thing and slot wants to bring the Dutchmen to Liverpool.
I mean you can just look at how both players play. Robertson is able overlap and come in with those dangerous crosses. And it’s a pity also that slot has overlooked Timikas. Remember him Greece vs NT. Very good LB. you see these typical Dutch coaches how they makes things hard for themselves. Slot has been biased as well in Endo ‘s case, the Japanese captain is a very good midfielder but slot hardly rotates him with Gravenberch.
Then you look at Maatsen at Villa. In epl it’s more about tempo and how players adopt to it. Offensive front. Hato imo needs to stay at Ajax for another two years before he moves elsewhere subject to European football which Ajax. Like Maatsen he shud move to serie A or bundasliga and then move up to epl.
@wilson Why do you hate Dutch football so much in general? Like I understand your frustration about unfair treatment of Frimpong and other stuff. But complaint about Slot and Gakpo and Gravenberch? This is crazy bat***t.
Slot overlooked Tsimikas in what sense? Tsimikas played about the same minute under Klopp last season and under Slot this season.
You said Slot has bias for Dutch players. What was that? He asked Zubimendi but could not get. So he worked with Gravenberch to make him world class. How is that his trouble?
And he did not start Gakpo at the beginning of the season. Gakpo fought back to the starting line up. when Jota get injured and Nunez underperformed, Slot moved Diaz to play false 9 and Gakpo came back to the picture. This is brilliant from both Slot and Gakpo. And you turn it into a Dutch bias story.
Slot does not rotate Endo enough. Yes, that’s true. And it is true back then as well when he was at Feyenoord. He does not rotate a lot. This works wonder for Liverpool this season. They might win the EPL which no one expected at the beginning at the season. Especially, after they do not spend anything in the transfer market.
“Question: People really rate Hato. Liverpool might want to get him in as Robertson replacement. Do you all see it? I have trouble seeing him as a top notch player. Please explain”
For me He is much better footballer than Dumfries,He is too young to go to liverpool..He should stay at least two years at Ajax.Then should move..He is more defense oriented left back and a makeshift center back.So he has versatlity.He is strong in duels,he pocketed yamal,he made mistake by doing stupid dribble and a tackle ,i felt tackle was yellow..But the same refree left out Dean huijsen with a kiss and small yellow,who almost destroyed kluiverts leg..thats how refrees are..i thonk hato gave the pre assist to Gakpo for the first goal..Hato was very good for 19 year old to play against european champions in a knockout match..
i feel we will be back to square 1 when dumfries comes back..combination of Dumfries Frimpong on right will never work..Not just frimpong ,nobody can work with dumfries,he is like kuyt,hardfoot,horrible first touch,poor accuracy.loosing the ball everytime we move in to crucial time..i am sick of seeing Dumfries attack..yes he scores some goals here and there..it happens..his only good quality is fighting spirit and work rate..
We played our best game without HIM..there is a reason for that..
As usually it’s the merit of where he is playing/ club. Brobbey will keep getting the nod until he gets the money in for Ajax. It’s the system and how it works
In between I rate Ohio higher than emegha. Like moise kean of Italy.
My two cents on Hato. He is a teenager and has only played in the Eredivisie. He was put in a tough spot because of injuries. He didn’t turn out to be an obvious weak spot that Spain attacked at will; Lamal was pretty quiet all game. As Koeman is fond of saying, though, a game is about moments. Hato had two (major) bad moments; chalk off both of them to youth. He is not ready to replace Robertson at Liverpool nor is he ready to be written in as the NT’s regular lb of the future, but he could develop into a very good player, his level tbd.
Re: tonite. The two day turnaround will be harder on the Dutch. Spain can make changes and it won’t affect them. (In the last game their subs played better than the ones they replaced). Oranje already had depth problems with injuries, and there are several players who could have trouble bouncing back: Gakpo hadn’t played a full game in a month; De Jong went off because of illness; Van Dijk has had a heavy schedule.
I was hoping NT to go through on penalties and a show down with France. More confidence for the boys. But I guess there are cursed on penalties. Not sure also if Simons and Lang on the same side proved to be effective. They were playing too close to each other.
Maatsen like I said showed what he can bring with his style. I felt on yamal’s goal Van dijk was slightly out of position and and once the ball came over the top it was too much space for yamal to cut back and curl the ball around.
Spain also attacked a lot from the right. But like I said they need to play more and more. The subs were too late.
I personally don’t like to see NT play vs average teams as that does give a true picture of players and strengths and weakness. They look good only to fade away s big guns. Hope this time around vs minors koeman will give opportunities to those who haven’t played much
Jan, Nice article as Always! Agreed with all you said and hopefully the return leg the team continues on the trajectory and we all fans will not end up in dismay again.
Also, the new webpage really gives the site a new breathe of life!
Thanks Jan..Kluivert was so massive, He create chaos for any defense..Doesn’t whine like Xavi simmons..
We played our Best game in last 5 years.. without Dumfries..dont you see the irony?? Dumfries cannot play like Timber,Geertruida and Frimpong.. He is very poor on ball.. Zero press resistance. Dumfries should be third choice behind Timber and Geertuida in picking order. Frimpong should play as winger.
Yes Jan, Sunday will be a very interesting game, lets see what it will bring us. We absolutely played a strong game! Unfortunally Hato at 19 years old learned the hard lessons of the top football game. Memphis seemed to be very slow, lets see if Brobbey will start on Sunday. Lots of energy together with the other young lions….
I have had similar thoughts on Dumfries and expressed these here. He’s a great right back for a transition team. But if you want to play possession football, he is a liability. His strengths: energy, speed, endurance, aerial strength. His weakness: the final pass, hard feet, lack of vision. He needs too much time when the spaces are limited. But we can’t compare him to Geertruida who is more like a Blind type back: good build up pass, good vision and intelligence. If you want to play reaction football ( Van Gaal in 2014), Dumfries is amazing, but I personally prefer the current set up.
Question: People really rate Hato. Liverpool might want to get him in as Robertson replacement. Do you all see it? I have trouble seeing him as a top notch player. Please explain
I think Hato has potential. But moving to Liverpool next season might kill his career. He is not there yet and we can see that from his game in Europa and against Spain. If he decide to move, it will be better to move to a mid table club like Brighton or Bournemouth. They will give him more time to adapt and he can afford more errors and learn from it.
Agree 100% with Kevin, its a massive step from Ajax to Liverpool. Better to first go to a smaller UK team, or stay 1 more year at Ajax, where it is 100% sure he will play all games, and then will be prepared for the World Cup in 2026. Also next season Ajax will play Champions League as well, a great tournament where he can show off his skills…
Also, why is Emegha still not called up? He is ideal for the Spain away game. Puzzled.
So true. Emegha is quick and if we want to play free flowing football, he is the best option that we have. I am also curious to hear what you think about using Zirkzee as a false 9. He is getting back to good form at United. He does not score enough goals but his hold up play is good and we have other players who can score like Gakpo, Kluivert, Reijnders and Frimpong.
I’m a big Zirkzee fan. Picked the wrong club (Man U) I think he would fair better at Arsenal or any Spanish or Italian side. But I think he’s top class. Maybe he would have done better in the 1990s, with his particular style of play.
Hato not a like-for like replacement for Robertson. His traits are combative, technical on the ball and able to morph into CB. the latter could be what Slot wants in his LB as an alternate variant in how he wants Liverpool to play. Controlled, not always playing on front foot.
Hato is more like that Lucas Hernandez hybrid style CB/LB. Even some early scout reports I’ve read had him as a Gvardiol comparable. Much will depend on where he moves from either this summer or next.
Frimpong was on fire 🙂
@ Jan
“Question: People really rate Hato. Liverpool might want to get him in as Robertson replacement. Do you all see it? I have trouble seeing him as a top notch player. Please explain”
Is hato, Robertson esque. Simply no but as usually it’s a dutch thing and slot wants to bring the Dutchmen to Liverpool.
I mean you can just look at how both players play. Robertson is able overlap and come in with those dangerous crosses. And it’s a pity also that slot has overlooked Timikas. Remember him Greece vs NT. Very good LB. you see these typical Dutch coaches how they makes things hard for themselves. Slot has been biased as well in Endo ‘s case, the Japanese captain is a very good midfielder but slot hardly rotates him with Gravenberch.
Then you look at Maatsen at Villa. In epl it’s more about tempo and how players adopt to it. Offensive front. Hato imo needs to stay at Ajax for another two years before he moves elsewhere subject to European football which Ajax. Like Maatsen he shud move to serie A or bundasliga and then move up to epl.
@wilson Why do you hate Dutch football so much in general? Like I understand your frustration about unfair treatment of Frimpong and other stuff. But complaint about Slot and Gakpo and Gravenberch? This is crazy bat***t.
Slot overlooked Tsimikas in what sense? Tsimikas played about the same minute under Klopp last season and under Slot this season.
You said Slot has bias for Dutch players. What was that? He asked Zubimendi but could not get. So he worked with Gravenberch to make him world class. How is that his trouble?
And he did not start Gakpo at the beginning of the season. Gakpo fought back to the starting line up. when Jota get injured and Nunez underperformed, Slot moved Diaz to play false 9 and Gakpo came back to the picture. This is brilliant from both Slot and Gakpo. And you turn it into a Dutch bias story.
Slot does not rotate Endo enough. Yes, that’s true. And it is true back then as well when he was at Feyenoord. He does not rotate a lot. This works wonder for Liverpool this season. They might win the EPL which no one expected at the beginning at the season. Especially, after they do not spend anything in the transfer market.
“Question: People really rate Hato. Liverpool might want to get him in as Robertson replacement. Do you all see it? I have trouble seeing him as a top notch player. Please explain”
For me He is much better footballer than Dumfries,He is too young to go to liverpool..He should stay at least two years at Ajax.Then should move..He is more defense oriented left back and a makeshift center back.So he has versatlity.He is strong in duels,he pocketed yamal,he made mistake by doing stupid dribble and a tackle ,i felt tackle was yellow..But the same refree left out Dean huijsen with a kiss and small yellow,who almost destroyed kluiverts leg..thats how refrees are..i thonk hato gave the pre assist to Gakpo for the first goal..Hato was very good for 19 year old to play against european champions in a knockout match..
i feel we will be back to square 1 when dumfries comes back..combination of Dumfries Frimpong on right will never work..Not just frimpong ,nobody can work with dumfries,he is like kuyt,hardfoot,horrible first touch,poor accuracy.loosing the ball everytime we move in to crucial time..i am sick of seeing Dumfries attack..yes he scores some goals here and there..it happens..his only good quality is fighting spirit and work rate..
We played our best game without HIM..there is a reason for that..
Re :Emegha
As usually it’s the merit of where he is playing/ club. Brobbey will keep getting the nod until he gets the money in for Ajax. It’s the system and how it works
In between I rate Ohio higher than emegha. Like moise kean of Italy.
Ohio is the second striker at Utrecht…… Emegha I don´t know, never saw him playing to be honest so no opinion.
So, who is lb tonite?
My two cents on Hato. He is a teenager and has only played in the Eredivisie. He was put in a tough spot because of injuries. He didn’t turn out to be an obvious weak spot that Spain attacked at will; Lamal was pretty quiet all game. As Koeman is fond of saying, though, a game is about moments. Hato had two (major) bad moments; chalk off both of them to youth. He is not ready to replace Robertson at Liverpool nor is he ready to be written in as the NT’s regular lb of the future, but he could develop into a very good player, his level tbd.
Re: tonite. The two day turnaround will be harder on the Dutch. Spain can make changes and it won’t affect them. (In the last game their subs played better than the ones they replaced). Oranje already had depth problems with injuries, and there are several players who could have trouble bouncing back: Gakpo hadn’t played a full game in a month; De Jong went off because of illness; Van Dijk has had a heavy schedule.
I thought Hato will not be available because he got red card last game. It looks like Maatsen will start.
right, Hato is out, that was why I was asking…thanks for the answer.
There we go! Depay on the penalty.
I was hoping NT to go through on penalties and a show down with France. More confidence for the boys. But I guess there are cursed on penalties. Not sure also if Simons and Lang on the same side proved to be effective. They were playing too close to each other.
Maatsen like I said showed what he can bring with his style. I felt on yamal’s goal Van dijk was slightly out of position and and once the ball came over the top it was too much space for yamal to cut back and curl the ball around.
Spain also attacked a lot from the right. But like I said they need to play more and more. The subs were too late.
I personally don’t like to see NT play vs average teams as that does give a true picture of players and strengths and weakness. They look good only to fade away s big guns. Hope this time around vs minors koeman will give opportunities to those who haven’t played much