Against Poland, the Dutch team shows that their own laziness is perhaps their biggest opponent

It should be a hopeless attack. Two Poles against five Dutchmen, almost sixty meters from the goal. Around the halfway line are Ryan Gravenberch and Lutsharel Geertruida, just a few long steps from winger Jakub Kaminski, who rushes forward with the ball at his feet. Central defenders Virgil van Dijk and Jurriën Timber in the back of the lone striker Robert Lewandowski. And on the left the lightning-fast Micky van de Ven, as an extra safety net.

But midfielder Gravenberch hesitates. Maybe half a second, but then Kaminski is no longer traceable to him. And right back Geertruida also does not step in, but sprints away from his Polish opponent, towards his own goal. Van Dijk and Timber do the same. Instead of covering Lewandowski short, they give him a few meters of freedom of movement. Kaminski sees it, plays and then sprints deep into space.

While Timber still recognizes the danger and applies pressure, Lewandowski moves with the ball away from his teammate. Then in one motion he turns back to Kaminski. Timber has been spotted, Geertruida and Van de Ven are already slowing down at that moment, apparently thinking that the danger has already passed. Van Dijk continues to provide backing in the center, instead of anticipating Kaminski’s running action.

When Lewandowski then gives his through ball, the Dutch captain is the only one who makes a half-hearted attempt to prevent a goal. Four other blue away shirts run along for form. In vain. Kaminski found the net through the legs of goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen: 1-0 for Poland, in a match in which the Netherlands had been on the attack almost continuously until then.

Underestimation

The moment is significant for the game that the Dutch team showed in this World Cup qualifying series. The Dutch team regularly prevailed in matches against much weaker opponents. With quick combinations and a lot of movement, national coach Ronald Koeman’s team destroyed the defenses of other countries. But sometimes things were also extremely difficult, and the Netherlands turned out to be very vulnerable. Not infrequently due to laziness and underestimation.

For example, it went at home against Poland, where the Netherlands had one chance after another in the first half, but failed to score more than one goal. The equalizer was scored just before the end. This was also the case during a visit to Lithuania, where the Netherlands squandered a 2-0 lead in seven minutes. The match was narrowly won by a goal from Memphis Depay. And so it went on Friday evening when we visited Poland again.

The Dutch team managed to level the score just after half-time, again thanks to Depay. But in a match in which Koeman wanted to secure a World Cup ticket for next summer, his team was surprised again (1-1). It was not the number six in the world that had the greatest claim to victory, but the home team. The result is that the Netherlands must at least draw against Lithuania on Monday to qualify.

Tough Poland

Koeman had already warned his team in advance. Of all the matches this qualifying cycle, the away game against Poland was without a doubt the most difficult, he said during a press conference on Thursday evening. After all, Poland had previously proven to be a tough, extremely disciplined team. Also in the home game, in Rotterdam, the team of national coach Jan Urban let the Dutch team make the play, quickly crossing the field after an interception.

Poland will also use this approach on Friday in the Narodowy Stadium in Warsaw. The Netherlands builds up carefully, trying to find a way through the crowded axis of the field by playing around. And just like during the second half in Rotterdam, this only works to a limited extent. Only after a quarter of the match has passed does the Netherlands get their first chance: a shot from striker Donyell Malen, straight at goalkeeper Kamil Grabara.

The Netherlands has already been reminded of the threat of a Polish counterattack. Immediately in the first minute, the home team gets a huge chance after a cross from Matty Cash, the wingback who made it 1-1 in Rotterdam. His cross reaches Nicola Zalewski, who is covered on the wrong side by Geertruida, but the midfielder shoots high.

Rarely do the Netherlands really escape the fierce Polish coverage, the organization of the home team is too good for that. The only moment in the first half is after 41 minutes, when Poland has been on the attack for the first time for a longer period of time. Controller Frenkie de Jong recognizes the opponent’s imbalance and quickly crosses the field. But if immediately afterwards Depay hesitates and loses the ball, the Netherlands also has plenty of room. The counter punch that follows makes it 1-0.

Hardly any chances

Despite the dominance, Koeman’s team actually only gets a serious chance. This occurs when left forward Cody Gakpo manages to escape just after halftime from the two defenders who have been shadowing him all evening. His cross goes towards the second post, where Malen appears. He heads, but his attempt is turned away, after which Depay is quickest to reach the ball: 1-1.

Yet the carelessness remains, even afterwards. Such as when Van de Ven lets Cash escape from his back twice immediately after the equalizer, resulting in a great chance for Lewandowski. And after just over an hour, a near-copy of the opening goal occurs. The Polish striker is played in, more than sixty meters from the goal, and despite three opponents in his vicinity, he is able to pass the ball into the loop to substitute Bartosz Kapustka.

No one sees how Kaminski starts a sprint in the axis of the field. Van Dijk looks at the ball, Geertruida again covers his opponent on the outside. The fact that it leads to nothing is purely because Kapustka waits too long before giving a deep pass.

Give a gift





Part





Email the editor