ANP National coach Ronald Koeman saw that there is still much to improve at the Dutch team.
NOS Voetbal•gisteren, 23:42
Did the Dutch team come closer to the European title tonight? “Not the way we played,” is the harsh conclusion of national coach Ronald Koeman. “You have to learn something from it. It was not good with the ball. The start was bad, restless, sloppy.”
“We played against a team that was close, covered well and aggressively. In fact, they had the best chances of the match. But those were the result of our loss of ball. Mark Flokken kept great, but gave the ball away just like that. And Mats Wieffer just puts it down on the sixteen, like ‘just shoot it in.’ If you make mistakes like that…”
Watch the complete conversation with Koeman here:
National coach Koeman criticizes sloppy Dutch team, but: ‘Reijnders are indispensable’
The national coach is also loyal to his trusted players and therefore many eyes were focused on Memphis Depay (back from long injuries) and especially Georginio Wijnaldum (currently playing in Saudi Arabia).
“Memphis is a great player,” Koeman emphasized again. “He also lost some ball, but he is just one of the creative, dangerous players. He is an added value up front.”
He was mild about Wijnaldum, who, unlike Depay, did score a goal. “I thought Gini was sufficient. He showed again that he has a nose for depth. He was also sloppy a few times, but he certainly didn’t disappoint me. I didn’t see any wear and tear, certainly not for an hour.”
Pro Shots National coach Ronald Koeman instructs substitute Wout Weghorst, brother Erwin takes care of Donyell Malen.
Koeman used the failed World Cup in 1990 as a deterrent example for his selection. Two years later nothing was left of the united Dutch team that became European champions in 1988.
In 1988 the substitutes made the team stronger, it was the opposite. Erwin Koeman was one of those water bearers in 1988, who unexpectedly made the whole stronger than the sum of the individuals.
ANPPress consultation on the sidelines between national coach Ronald Koeman and brother Erwin.
And so both brothers, now national coach and assistant, will have looked with satisfaction at the substitutes of the scoring Wout Weghorst and Donyell Malen. One player seems to have really convinced the national coach: Tijjani Reijnders. “The way he plays,” the national coach began with a cheerful twinkle in his eye, “he plays so easily, has a nice acceleration and scores a great goal.”
Koeman does not doubt whether Reijnders could also play alongside Frenkie de Jong. “They both have ‘light feet,’ as we say. They can accelerate with the ball. Tijjani has grown into a great player in a very short time. An indispensable part of the Dutch team.”
Watch the four goals of the Dutch team against Scotland below, including the wonderful 1-0 by Tijjani Reijnders:
A bigger challenge awaits with Germany on Tuesday. “I do have a team in my head. I will think about it calmly. We have to play better there than today, that is for sure. It is actually unbelievable that the Scots have not scored. The Germans will.”
Orange at the NOS
The practice match of the Dutch national team against Germany (Tuesday, March 26) can be watched live on NOS.nl, in the NOS app and on NPO 3. The preview starts at 8:10 PM. The kick-off is at 8.45 pm.
The match can also be followed live via a live blog on NOS.nl, in the NOS app and via a live report on NPO Radio 1.
2024-03-22 22:42:11
#Germans #finish
