Topic | Although the Dutch team has secured the qualification for Euro 2024 one round ahead of schedule, the problem remains
Being held second in the group by France may not be a big problem, but the Netherlands' own performance is not yet a top team.
"The goal has been achieved. After winning 1-0 at home to Ireland and securing the qualification for Euro 2024 one round in advance, Dutch coach Koeman used this sentence to summarize his work after "entering the palace for the second time", without too special comments, and not to mention excitement. It also makes sense that the 60-year-old orange coach had said before the tournament began: "Of course we will be happy if we qualify, but when it comes to celebrating, let's wait until we become European champions." The arrangement of the "qualifying celebration" was declined. Judging from the actual performance of the Dutch team, they do have a lot of homework to make up, and being pressed by France in second place in the group may not be a big problem, but the Netherlands' own performance is not yet a top team.
"Effortlessly, the Orange win Ireland", from the headline of the article in the Dutch media NOS, it is not difficult to feel that Koeman's team has not been too severely tested. In fact, although the score of 1-0 was not very beautiful, the opponent did not have much to fight back, except for a goal that was ruled invalid for offside, the visiting Ireland only had three shots on goal in the whole game, and the loss was expected. Koeman praised the defence after the game: "De Vrij, Virgil van Dijk and Blind played a perfect game. ”
The Dutch came close to being overturned by Ireland in September, conceding a goal in the fifth minute before winning from a penalty by Hakpo and a central flanking by substitute Weghorst. In that game, the Orange Shirts played very hard, with a lot of mistakes at the back, and the offensive side also relied on the change of formation after the midfield substitution to play more feeling. Two months later, the Dutchman's performance has certainly improved, and it's no wonder that goal-scorer Weghorst has rightly replied to reporters: The game was more difficult than expected, and is it necessary to talk about this at the moment of qualifying?
Indeed, the key is that the Netherlands won and qualified. At this moment, whether winning is beautiful enough or not is certainly not the point. Even if it is a small victory, in a good direction, it also shows the "resilience" of the team, and being able to gnaw on Ireland's seemingly not strong but stubborn hard bones represents the maturity of the team. However, in the long run, the Orange will have to continue to grow, and it is not enough to simply "replicate" the immediate success. Considering that the three starting centre-backs are all 96 years old, and Weghorst is also in his old age, they certainly cannot fully represent the future of the team.
Of course, the Netherlands also has a youthful vibe. Even before the decision was made to qualify for the first game, the Dutch media had already begun to blow the whistle that Ireland should be scared if Hakpo and Simons joined forces. The former has played well in the Qatar World Cup, and has had setbacks after moving to Liverpool in the English Premier League, but is gradually improving, while the latter is the most eye-catching "post-03" youngster in the Netherlands, who returned to Paris Saint-Germain this summer and was loaned to Leipzig in the Bundesliga for training, which can be described as promising.
Against Ireland, the duo struggled to see it all, with Hakpo netting a game-high four shots and Simmons also having three. In the 343 system, two young men who are both wingers and shadow strikers play an extremely important role, hiding behind the center and delivering ammunition to the front line. However, despite firing a lot and contributing a total of five key passes, Hakpo and Simmons were not directly involved in any of the goals, and the offensive efficiency could be improved. Simmons, in particular, has made 10 appearances for the Netherlands since making his international debut a year ago, but still hasn't scored his first goal for the Netherlands. The young man seemed to be a little anxious, and he was also a little bit back, and he didn't make a single save from the opposition goalkeeper, but a flanking shot was blocked in front of goal by his team-mate Hakpo who charged forward.
How far the two juniors can grow in the coming months may determine how much the Orange team's ceiling can be raised. In Qatar, the Netherlands played a brilliant quarter-final against Argentina, showing the momentum of the world champions, but overall, they always gave people the feeling of "utilitarianism over talent", and the main reason for winning was the careful calculation of the previous coach Louis van Gaal, as well as the flash of inspiration of individual stars.
After the World Cup, Koeman returned, and the Netherlands have arguably yet shown the level they were able to sustain in 2022. At the beginning of this year, they lost 0-4 to France in the European qualifiers, and also lost in the semi-finals of the UEFA Nations League, losing 2-4 to Croatia in the semi-finals and losing to Italy 2-3 in the third-place match. Add to that the 2-1 home defeat to France in October, and the Orange are winless against a single team in 2023, with only three of their opponents in total: Gibraltar, Greece and Ireland.
The small sample size makes it difficult to conclude that the Orange have really regained their spark, although they have indeed qualified for the main draw of three consecutive European Championships/World Cups, shaking off the embarrassment of missing out on two consecutive tournaments. In addition, in terms of statistics, the Dutch team's promotion this time is not very exciting, with only 11 goals in their seven European qualifiers with one round remaining, one less than Greece, who are third in the group.
But then again, as a qualifying team, the Dutch team still has a lot of shining points in the European qualifiers, such as Dumfries, who contributed as many as 6 assists. Whether Koeman is in the traditional 433 or the 343 he has been playing in lately, the Inter full-back has been at home, with crosses from the right flank becoming the team's main attacking tactic. Weghorst was the team's top scorer with three goals, and with ace striker Memphis Depay often sidelined due to injury, the World Cup-era super-substitute has been the backbone of the attack.
In addition to the brave performance of the two old faces, "more choices for newcomers" is also considered by the Dutch media to be a major discovery of the national team in the European preliminaries. Don't look at Ireland, Koeman relies heavily on veterans at the back and his desire to try new players is very strong. In 2023, nine Dutch players have made their international debuts, and many of them have been eye-catching, including AC Milan midfielder Reinders. There is definitely room for growth for these young people, which means that the orange team can also improve themselves.
It should be noted that the opportunity for newcomers is not exactly what Koeman wants to try, but also because of the objective factors of too many injuries. In the case of the match against Ireland, for example, the likes of Memphis Depay, Frenkie de Jong, De Ligt and Ake were absent. Because of this, the Dutch media has another expectation for the future: the remnants can still be successfully promoted, and when the personnel are all in place next summer, the orange team will definitely have a great future. And coach Koeman also thinks so, but whether he can turn the theoretical strength improvement into reality depends on his efforts in the next six months.
Text: Yan Yu
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