Wim Kieft lashes out at the Dutch player: ‘He is not on a school trip!’
Monday, March 25, 2024 at 8:24 AM
Wim Kieft cannot imagine that Xavi Simons will get a starting place against Germany on Tuesday. The analyst thought Simons made a poor impression against Scotland (4-0), a recurring problem as soon as he puts on the Orange shirt. The RB Leipzig midfielder does make an impression in a club context. “In general, he wants to make things too difficult,” Kieft said in his column in De Telegraaf.
Simons excels almost every week at Leipzig, but cannot achieve the same in the Dutch team. The twenty-year-old could not make his mark against the Scots either, Kieft saw.
More: ‘It’s starting to become a mystery: his continued struggle in Orange’ | Van Hanegem stands up for criticized Wijnaldum: ‘I would take him with me!’
“He suffered from losing the ball and played as a junior. Not for the first time in the Dutch team. He is no longer 16 years old and then you can expect more from someone who gets many opportunities from Koeman in the starting line-up and every week in the top of the Bundesliga. acting.”
Simons would too often choose the difficult solution. Kieft wonders why the more refined internationals do not point this out to him. “What is disappointing is that you don’t see anyone like Virgil van Dijk, Georginio Wijnaldum or Memphis Depay calling someone like Simons to order and telling him that he is not on a school trip. That he has to act normal for a while and that his patience runs out after two warnings. and he realizes that he must not dream of making such childish mistakes again a third time.”
Kieft therefore advocates a reserve role for Simons against the Germans. Who he does like is Wijnaldum. Kieft does not think Friday’s match is an indicator of whether the veteran still has added value. “The match against Germany will give a more realistic picture of where he stands and is capable of.”
It is known that Ronald Koeman will make at least one change to the starting line-up on Tuesday. Bart Verbruggen will be under the bar, which will be at the expense of Mark Flokken. Presumably Jeremie Frimpong will also make way for Denzel Dumfries. Teun Koopmeiners and Wout Weghorst may be missing due to injuries.
