Oranje goes for #1

blog WC2018
by Jan

If you’d ask me who I would have wanted to win between France and Sweden, I probably would have said “Sweden”! I think this is the mindset of the winner, the champion. I don’t believe in half-baked affirmations like “Well…if France wins, then they’ll be #1 but then we beat Sweden and we can still go to the WC as the #2!”. Screw that!

I say: grab that bitch by the pussy Donald Trump style and go for the jugular.

France is getting nervous, Sweden is getting cocky, fine. We just scored double digits in goals and we have players returning to the Oranje squad in fine form (Sneijder, Robben, Promes, Memphis, Hoedt, Ake, De Vrij, Cillesen).

hoedt arjen lux

We did the business vs Luxembourg. We’re still in it to win it. And our chances of topping the group have just increased!! No gloomy faces people. We are on our way.

I think Dick and Ruud will be able to forge a compact and hard to beat team, with some glorious brilliance on top. Sometimes it’s Robben, next time it’s Promes, who knows if it will ever be Memphis again, but we will be able to rely on the sturdiness, workrate and defensive strength of Wijnaldum, Strootman, De Vrij, Blind, Cillesen to keep us safe at the back.

How sweet would it be to leave France behind us?

wes lux

Not much intelligent to say about Holland-Luxembourg. I predicted 6-0. I was disappointed. The first goal took a while, after that Luxembourg gave up. I am pleased for Wesley to score the second (I knew he would score) and I saw some solid interplay at times and some excellent moves by Hoedt and De Vrij.

We can evaluate Oranje’s performance based on 5 questions:

Was Oranje capable of attacking with creativity and variety?

The answer is yes. The game wasn’t even 15 minutes old of the fans already saw three great through balls from Sneijder  and after 2 minutes it could have been 1-0 by Robben after good interplay with Janssen. We saw De Vrij pushing up and assist Promes his goal. We saw Hoedt doing this centrally for the first goal and the pass on Robben. We saw Veltman drive up for the move which ended with Wijnaldum scoring…

promes lux

Did Oranje attack and defend like a unit?

Marc Wilmots, coach of Ivory Coast, said it succinctly. “Advocaat is capable of letting his team play like a compact unit.” This is still a point to focus on, as Luxembourg (and Ivory Coast) had opportunities to wiggle their way through, and Kevin Strootman in particular needs to adapt better to his role in Oranje.

Have there been changes in the hierarchy?

Well, no. Robben and Sneijder determine what happens. Who takes the setpiece and when to push up. In particular Robben was unstoppable in his desire to attack.

arjen dick lux

Did Memphis finally play simple and direct?

Two backheels in the first half. And both were functional. One actually resulted in Sneijder’s goal. Memphis was under the magnifying glass. Robben and Memphis had a rift after the Ivory Coast game and Gullit decided to spend extra time on the unfathomable but headstrong winger. A good first half, a little bit sloppy in the second. Promes replaced him and the best player of Russia scored as well. This might result in a fascinating duel.

vince lux

Is Vincent Janssen the right striker for Oranje?

Well, that is a 100% yes. He played an amazing game, even though he missed an early chance. He had a good rapport with Robben and is always able to be played in. He’s got eye for the movement around him and created and finished a penalty. 7 out of the 13.

nathan lux

Smart Dick, didn’t want to do a “Ziyech” and allowed Nathan Ake his official minutes

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45 comments

  1. Good analysis. Ake is now tied with the Netherlands he will be a good asset for the team.

    Don’t you guys feel like there is a whole different attitude? I feel like Advocaat and Gullit are bringing the team together. We beat Luxembourg it’s not quite an accomplishment but we also won our 2 friendlies. With a fit team we can aim for the 1st Spot!!!

  2. Hey Jan, great analysis as always. I do have some concerns particular when we face France in August. I have no faith in Veltman on the right. I don’t think he is solid enough plus he is often time out of place. I think Ramselaar offers more in many ways. Second against France we gonna need our old Stroodman back. Not the one i saw yesterday. Lastly maybe that one is debatable but i would start with Promes and use Depay as substitute.
    Your thought?

    1. Ramselaar is a great player but not a right back. The real right backs we have are Karsdorp and Tete. Either one of them would work best, but I’d go for Tete vs France. Tete is a real defender. Karsdorp and Janmaat are “made’ defenders (used to be attackers).

  3. yes Jean you are quiet right about strootman.he was average in all the three games.he needs to step up vs France.

    on other hand I’m bit sup rises Deschamp has not utilized Kante and has opted for Matudi

    1. also the scoreline doesn’t reflect anything at all expect for the fact Luxembourg is Luxembourg and it was always going to be a one way traffic.as predicted.

      I think vs France DA needs to come up with players to player strategy with off course good backup. the main goal vs France should be tighten all the loose ends. LB, RB, DM. Strootman and Wijnaldum as holding mid is a big question mark for me vs France. I think the game will be decided from there and who comes over who in that midfield battle.

      good to see Hoedt improving as he plays more games.

      I also want to see Toornstra play more games and if Sneijder sucks vs France then he should the man to replace him.

  5. That would be awesome for Feyenoord.

    I don’t think Toornstra is a Sneijder replacement. I would play Promes on 10. Toornstra is a Wijnaldum replacement and Wijnaldum might take Strootman’s role.

    Strootman is not 100% at it, for me…

  6. Great win for Holland we did what was expected which is a massive positive sign. How many times have you seen a team not live upto expectations, sometimes this can be difficult so I am really happy with the result!
    I saw the second half of Sweden v France, based on this game the,y are both quite beatable Sweden play long on the counter and France were just ordinary but have a lot of talent that can change a game. Griezman is their biggest danger, stop him and you win, Pogba has been average all year and is not in form ATM he is a bit like Stroot in that regard.
    I’m with Jan in the “Glass half full ” camp , I think we can top the group and go on to have a good tournament in Russia!

    1. as I always say never rely on his shoulders to put the gun .he was fit vs Bulguria but still they lost. you always expect mistakes to happen. it’s jus trying to eliminate those mistakes that counts.

      1. I think Van Ginkel and Locadia should boost this squad vs France if they are injury free.

        locadia- Robben

        sneijder

        wijnaldum-Van Ginkel- Strootman-Toornstra

        hoedt- De vrij- Tete

        Zoet

        bring on France.

      2. I agree we cannot leave it all to him, however we are so much more dangerous when he is fit and firing. In fact we are feared when he plays.

  9. some positives from Luxembourg:
    I appreciated better pressing from our players off the ball, but best for me was that the passing was more spread out, not just passed around the defense in a giant U shape. Better use of the ball by the midfielders as well, who were able to turn and look up so better quality balls coming earlier too. I thought Wijnaldum had a great game tracking everything down and must have put in the most Km’s doing the dirty work while veterens Sneijder Strootman and Robben all looking strong (even though Robben was not yet what he could be imo), and same with de Vrij who I realize gives me (us?) huge confidence when he is playing, big difference for midfielders decision making too.
    Blind still not my favourite LB but was ok, and could have been very important breaking down Lux if they had kept it clean for longer and parked their bus a little closer. Hoedt still a bit inconsistent (great play for his assist but some really poor giveaways too) but I prefer him to Martins Indi already and he will only improve with time – curious on who the back 4 would be if we were fit once van Dijk and maybe Bruma are back. Veltman actually looked pretty good, while not my best choice for RB.
    Memphis had a great assist and created some chances but I still have a better feeling with Promes – who can also boast 4 goals and 2 assists in his last 371 minutes for us.
    And anyone come close to rivalling Janssen for striker? Not really, 3 in 3 for him now and could have been more..

    But for all the positives, doing it versus Lux (who really were awful) is one thing – next is France already and no more friendlies in between… so let’s all hope for good summers and starts to the next season for all the boys! And some consistency up top too, not so much knvb drama like the last couple summers.

    It’s not impossible but we must have the best fitness and form as possible going to France, and then we give ourselves the best chance.

    1. We are going to have a very solid back 4 in the upcoming 8 years at least. We have so many options for our back four.

      AGree, i have always felt confident when De Vrij is playing. Am looking forward of our centre back partnership De Vrij + Van Dijk , whilst Hoedt or Ake / De ligt can be our strong sub.

      What only worries me , is we don’t have world class strikers now. A replacement of Robben/ Van Persie …

  10. I am sure that from last performance onwards(even against luxumburg Depay couldnt not do a Shi$$%T).Hope he himself and evryone realised he is an overhyped mistake of all of us..
    We have Babel back in fold..He is strong,incredibly pacy,well established and effective dribber and a fine target shooter.this is the high time use Babel he is NOT FINISHED But Depay is.
    We have bighole with strootman as DM,Both Vilhena and Toonstra plays better than him.Wijnaldum offcourse..
    Strootman should go back to bench for the sake of our team..last time he failed vs pogba,i dont think he will win against pogba..all i see is angry strootman getting a yellow or redcard vs pogba..
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UatoiOz6rnU

    1. this is what they absolutely can not let him do. if he bosses around in the midfield and keeps releasing through balls for the forwards, it could be detrimental and also decisive.

      As I said earlier I cant see Strooman and Wijnaldum take on Progba and Matudi or Kante. wijnaldum is not a natural defender and also lacks grit. he could be outmuscled in the midfield.

      Strootman, he has looked average in most of the games he has played. A lot has been said about after his injury return especially him being not 100 percent but for Roma it doesn’t seem to be problem so what’s the issuse here.

      this is where DA needs to come up with a good strategy.

      Locadia- Robben

      sneijder-Van Ginkel

      Ake-Strooman

      Buttner-Van Dijk- De Vrij- Karsdorp

      zoet

      1. “”””wijnaldum is not a natural defender and also lacks grit. he could be outmuscled in the midfield.””””””””””
        F%^^&k you wilson,u r deluded..Gini is so strong guy,incredibly strong..
        yes your buttner will get outmuscled,yes ur Depay will get out muscled…
        NOT GINI BOY…..

        1. so why was progoa bullying them in the last game they played France. wasnt Strootman and wijnaldum there as well.you yourself posted the video link but are straying away.

          3. Progoa bullied Strootman not Gini..Gini had to take matuidi..Gini was good…Proper was walking in the pitch,perhaps the weakest of orange player..
            Both Strootman and Gini did their best ,both were betryed by Propper..In that Pogba Vs strootman..Strootman lost that and we lost it..
            YOu were talking shit on Gini and Gini is much stronger than anyother player in the squad..HE HAS A MYSTERIOUS STRENGTH..

  15. Vs France
    We need sharp finishers up front
    we have only 3 in that catagory that are
    Babel–Janssen—Roben

    then energetic box to box running midfeilders with vision
    those are
    Vilhena–Toonstra-
    Then we need a destroyer who can guard as and give some visionary passes,,
    Ake is the man but considering Pogba WE NEED FOSU MENSAH as DM vs france..
    i would go with
    —–Janssen——–Roben——-
    ————Sneijder————–
    —-Vilhena———-Wijnaldum—
    ————-Mensah————-
    kongolo—-Hoedt—Devrij—karsdorp
    ————Cillessen—————–
    if janssen is injured i would place Wijnaldum in his spot..as i dont TRUST MEMPISS,and DOST..

  16. I love this site, but these line-ups and formations crack me up every time.

    And you can post them with impunity because there is no responsibility on your part and no chance they would ever be implemented in real life.

    But then when some 19-year old becomes a star five years from now, you will go back and say how you alone predicted their ascent – how astute of you!

    The last two proposed line-ups I’ve seen posted included Locadia (0 caps), van Ginkel (6 caps), Buttner (0 caps), Karsdorp (2 caps), Vilhena (4 caps), Fosu Mensah (0 caps) and Kongolo (2 caps). Because I’m going to use these players as starters in a do-or-die World Cup qualifier vs France?! Seriously?

    Perhaps these players will all go on to great things, but they are not who is needed at the moment. Anyone remember de Ligt vs Bulgaria? Danny does…

    Maybe if we get a 1-0 lead, I can sub on Brenet (0 caps), Zeegelaar (0 caps), Dijks (0 caps) and/or Letschert (0 caps) and play with a back three?

      1. I meant when he played with France.he was above average in that game.

        toornstra also just took one game vs morroco to prove he is better than klaassen who has how many caps.

        I would go players who are individually better skilled than those who have played for NT but are just making up numbers.

  17. Maybe I’ll try the following against France if all are available:

    Aboukhlal—Boadu—Mallahi
    Mendonca—Oosting—Bouchataoui,
    Pierie—Bakkar—St. Jago—Geertruida
    Schendelaar

  18. Or maybe old school with a 3-4-3:

    Cruyff—van Basten—Bergkamp
    Gullit—van Hanegem—Neekens
    ———-Rijkaard———-
    Krol—–Israel—–Koeman
    ———-van de Sar———-

    Unfortunately, I think fatigue (or worse) will be a factor with this group.

  19. Or if we find that France is particularly weak down the left side, we could field this line-up of all left-footed players:

    Rensenbrink—-Moulijn—-Robben

    —————van Persie—————

    ——Haan—–Davids—–Cocu——

    —-Krol—–F. de Boer—–Keizer—-

    ——————-Krul——————–

  20. Pick the best players and play them consistently. There has been far too much indecision by coaches on the selections for the past two + years. You need to look at different players, yes, but there is a limit to that–and the Netherlands has passed the limit on knowing who is good enough and experienced enough to win important qualifying matches.

    1. disagree. player credibility was never a feature of player selection. I will say this again, Danny Blind totally fucked up the transition phase with his selection of players.If he would have done what DA/ Grim did in the last few matches. NT by now would have been a strong contingent.again selecting them is one thing and giving them opportunity to play is another.Danny almost stuck with the squad that could not make it to the Euros with only Karsdorp and Van Dijk forcing their way into the squad. of course there were players who missed out due to injuries but this doesn’t mean don’t open doors to others. I mean chance to PLAY.Ake, Hoedt, Toornstra there is no doubt you can tell they will get better with every game they play. this shows their credibility as a player.

      I also disagree with the idea that if a player has no caps for NT, he cannot play for NT. this is stupid. again player credibility is what
      should be first on the list not whether if he has got caps for NT or not.

    2. disagree. player credibility was never a feature of player selection. I will say this again, Danny Blind totally f**ked up the transition phase with his selection of players.If he would have done what DA/ Grim did in the last few matches. NT by now would have been a strong contingent.again selecting them is one thing and giving them opportunity to play is another.Danny almost stuck with the squad that could not make it to the Euros with only Karsdorp and Van Dijk forcing their way into the squad. of course there were players who missed out due to injuries but this doesn’t mean don’t open doors to others. I mean chance to PLAY.Ake, Hoedt, Toornstra there is no doubt you can tell they will get better with every game they play. this shows their credibility as a player.

      I also disagree with the idea that if a player has no caps for NT, he cannot play for NT. this is stupid. again player credibility is what
      should be first on the list not whether if he has got caps for NT or not.

    3. Yea I’m with you, massive part of the reason we are where we are at..
      I think consistency is especially important when your players play all over Europe and not many of them with each other.
      Obviously Blind got it wrong, I hope Advocaat can pull off the miracle – will be tough selections ahead of the France match, with only a few weeks into the season.. but same for France, really.
      Let’s hope for good form and fitness for our top players, and for DA to have them motivated and organized, to have the best chance to take down France..
      Both of us had slow starts last Sept, with us drawing Sweden away (super disappointing to not have those 3 pts, ugh that Dost goal) and with France drawing Belarus away – so not at all impossible, but France will also be out for full points and no doubt aware of their situation as well.

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