It won’t, will it? On Saturday evening around ten o’clock, the World Cup ticket from the Netherlands seemed to have arrived. Meanwhile, we are an unprecedented implosion, a “freak accident” of the national coach and a much-discussed political decision. An atmospheric sketch from camp-Oranje, where the party frenzy gave way to doubts.
You have those days…
On Sunday evening, Netherlands national coach Louis van Gaal slipped unhappily when he put his mountain bike away after training. The medical bulletin: a fracture in his hip.
And so Van Gaal had to be carried around in a golf cart on the final practice session before the crucial game against Norway. Unlike his captain, he spoke to the press with an internet connection. Soon the success coach will be coaching along the sidelines in a wheelchair.
Given the Van Gaal figure, it would normally cause a lot of hilarity. But due to the rapid succession of accidents at the Dutch national team, many see this as yet another bad omen.
What a difference with Saturday evening around ten o’clock…
Louis van Gaal had to speak to the press on the webcam.
house of cards
At that time, the Netherlands leads with a comfortable 0-2 lead in Montenegro, after goals from Memphis Depay.
In the stands of the Pod Goricom stadium, journalists are already claiming that the World Cup ticket has been received, thanks to the unexpected goalless draw a few hours earlier in Latvia-Norway. The joy of the accompanying fans is endless.
But suddenly the atmosphere changes completely: Montenegro equalizes in 4 minutes, after the visitors’ organization had fallen like a house of cards.
Away for sure World Cup ticket.
To make matters worse, defender Stefan de Vrij also injured himself. His teammates are very hard in their analysis afterwards: “It is scandalous how we played in the second half”, said captain Van Dijk, among others.
The feeling and mood have changed after so many disasters in succession.
In the standings, the Netherlands remains the leader with 20 points. Only Turkey – which still has to go to Montenegro – approached to 2 pieces. And coming opponent Norway also hangs on the same number.
It is therefore possible that the Orange will tumble to the play-offs tonight. Or even worse: definitely miss the World Cup.
“The atmosphere has changed”, commented journalist Jeroen Kapteijns, who has been following in the footsteps of Orange for the newspaper De Telegraaf in recent days.
“However, not much has changed in the starting position. But the feeling and the mood are now different after so many disasters in succession.”
Parallels
Last Friday there was already a first hit.
The Dutch cabinet then drew a line through a sold-out Kuip for the (now turns out) decisive game against Norway.
“However, the virologists had not advised that”, Kapteijns sighs. “It was a unilateral decision by politicians, 2 days before a crucial World Cup game. This is very disappointing for the Orange, because that way the home advantage evaporates completely.”
I found it remarkable that Van Gaal admitted that he had already been thinking about the game against Ireland in 2001.
Van Gaal, however, showed himself optimistic about the chances of the Netherlands from behind his webcam. Even though in the meantime, parallels are being drawn with his first term in office with the national team.
Then the Orange missed the 2002 World Cup after a similar slump in the last straight. On the penultimate match day against Portugal, it gave away a double lead. And in the all-deciding game against Ireland, Van Gaal’s team went down surprisingly.
“I thought it was remarkable that Van Gaal admitted that he had already thought about it,” said Kapteijns. “But the national coach was immediately positive about the quality of the group. Only it was also very large in 2001…”
iron eaters
It should be clear that the Netherlands will soon receive Norway with doubts in their minds. Few who dare to put their hand in the fire that it will be okay anyway.
Because how resilient is this Orange really?
“That’s the big question mark,” Kapteijns nods. “It also collapsed like a pudding at the European Championships in the event of a setback. Mentally, this team has not really excelled.”
In Norway, meanwhile, they smell blood. “Real iron eaters. That will be a whole match fighting against an energetic team. Fortunately, Erling Haaland is missing, because otherwise we would have the shivers.”
So one stroke of luck.
