at the World Cup, Oranje stamped Ajax

The Oranje of the Netherlands, on their way to qualifying for the final four of the League of Nations, will have a strong red color at the World Cup in Qatar as their successes are always based more on those of Ajax Amsterdam.

Thursday evening, during the convincing victory in Warsaw against Poland (0-2), Louis van Gaal fielded six players from the Dutch champion club. It could be the same on Sunday at the Arena Johan-Cruijff against Belgium.

“The players you will see on the pitch against Poland and Belgium will be the ones you will see most often in action in Qatar,” the coach prefaced the two Nations League matches.

The coach, who himself was revealed on the bench of Ajax with whom he won the Champions League in 1995 after the UEFA Cup in 1992, would be wrong to deprive himself of the elements of a team who have dominated the Eredivisie for four seasons.

A team again feared on the continental scene since its place in the last four of the C1 in 2019. And which serves as a breeding ground for a lot of big clubs on the continent, which compete for each transfer window for its best elements.

Thursday in Warsaw, six Ajacides were therefore aligned: veteran goalkeeper (38) Remko Pasveer and outfield players Jurriën Timber, Daley Blind, Steven Bergwijn, Steven Berghuis and Kenneth Taylor.

However, this is not a record. In March 1987, the coach at the time, the late Rinus Michels, used nine players from Ajax in a qualifying match for Euro-1988 against Greece (1-1).

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A series of 21 passes

Among the 24 players called up by Van Gaal for the flat country derby, fourteen passed through Amsterdam at some point in their career or were trained at the club’s “Toekmost” (“Future”) center: goalkeepers Jasper Cillessen and Remko Pasveer, defenders Daley Blind, Matthijs de Ligt, Devyne Rensch, Jurriën Timber and Stefan de Vrij, midfielders Steven Berghuis, Frenkie de Jong, Davy Klaassen and Kenneth Taylor as well as forwards Steven Bergwijn, Ryan Gravenberch and Brian Brobbey .

Even if the system of play used in the national team is not always the same as that used by Ajax (the traditional 4-3-3 is often neglected by Van Gaal in favor of a defense with three or five elements ), the automatisms are there.

And the philosophy is the same as in the club: the Oranje prefer possession rather than the counter.

Thursday against Poland, the first goal scored in the 12th minute by Cody Gakpo concluded an uninterrupted series of 21 assists!

“I’m happy with what I’ve seen in terms of possession. It was really very good, ”rejoiced Van Gaal, yet generally stingy with compliments.

The coach can be optimistic two months before the World Cup. Since taking over the national team in August 2021, he has been undefeated in fourteen games, especially against big names like Germany, Denmark and Belgium.

“And if the series continues until the end of the year, that will mean that we are world champions”, laughed Thursday a Van Gaal who rarely departs from his insurance.