Frenkie de Jong jumps up and strikes into the void with a ferocious gesture. It’s halfway through the first half. Direct reason: a simple ball along the sideline on Daley Blind failed because his teammate was not counting on it. But the frustration runs deeper. He touches the ball far too little. De Jong, playmaker, always has an opponent (Piotr Zielinski) on his lip. He gets a painful tap on his ankle. In short, it doesn’t work. Not with him, so not with Orange, which is 0-1 behind. And that while the national coach – and everyone who saw the Netherlands play against the Belgians last week – still had such a good feeling about it.
That good feeling will not completely disappear after the Nations League match against Poland, which ultimately ended in a 2-2 draw. Just like earlier this year against Germany, the Orange showed resilience after falling behind. The mentality – or spirit in the words of Van Gaal – of his team is fine, he can conclude by now. But when the Dutch national team played against Belgium sovereign, on Saturday evening in the Kuip it looked shaky and vulnerable.
Take the first goal of the Poles, after just under 20 minutes. Well, it was only the first serious breakout, but right-back Matty Cash – a Brit with a Polish passport – was given plenty of time and space by Blind to put in and out on the edge of the penalty area. Low, diagonally through Blind’s legs, hit. Pressure on the ball, which Van Gaal insists on day in and day out, was undetectable. Not even that close to the goal.
The second goal, just after the break, gave the Netherlands away just as easily. The rear guard steps forward – too late –, midfielder Piatek knocks the ball over the defense from midfield and two Polish strikers appear right in front of goalkeeper Flek. Napoli striker Piotr Zielinski can make it.
rotate
It will probably not have been due to fatigue with Orange. Van Gaal always emphasizes that he does not want to overload his players. That is why he rotates with an A team and a B team, terms that the national coach avoids. The best eleven started against Belgium (successfully, won 1-4), three days ago it was the turn of the ‘shadow team’ in Cardiff (less convincing, 1-2 win). And so on Saturday-evening against Poland, the basic team was kicking off again. Only difference: Stefan de Vrij replaced captain Virgil van Dijk, who has been given time off after a long and grueling season at Liverpool. And Mark Fleks took the place of Jasper Cilissen.
According to exercise physiologists, rotation is the only way to responsibly get through this Nations League tour of four games within two weeks. The problem is only: opponents do the same, with the result that the A-team of Orange on Saturday evening hit a slightly defective Poland. Without world football player of the year (2021) Robert Lewandowski, who had been given rest after the midweek punishment against Belgium. A weakened opponent might be nice in a final tournament, in the handful of matches that remain in preparation for the World Cup to prefer his top-class opponents. They mercilessly expose any weaknesses.
uninspired
But Poland succeeded excellently even without Lewandowski. Unlike Belgium, Poland, loudly encouraged by thousands of Polish fans in the stands, collapsed. The Netherlands did not know what to do with it. Especially not in the first half. As creative and dynamic as Orange was in Brussels, it was at times so stiff and uninspired against Poland. Even captain Memphis Depay, who scored twice against the Belgians, was wandering. He got stuck, was offside, shot balls just like that over the sideline or into the opponent’s feet. And he missed a penalty just before the end (given for hands).
It was already 2-2, after goals from Davy Klaassen and Denzel Dumfries. Klaassen was able to tap in after a cross from Blind, Dumfries after a smooth combination that started with a nice pass from the back by Nathan Aké. From then on, neither team had more control over the game and the game got a pace that was sorely missed in the first 50 minutes. It was a small miracle that no more goals were scored.
The big question is what lessons Van Gaal draws from this match against Poland. “If we do it right, we’ll have one more man everywhere on the field,” says Van Gaal about the system with two steaming ‘wingbacks’ (Dumfries and Blind) that he wants to grind into the Orange under great time pressure. Orange is becoming more and more adept at it, Van Gaal sees at training sessions. But against a defensive opponent who pinned playmaker Frenkie de Jong, little came of it.
Van Gaal has three days left to make improvements. Wales awaits Tuesday, after which the players go on holiday.