National coach Ronald Koeman did not want to sound too reckless. Of course his orange Sunday was the outspoken favorite in the World Cup qualifying match against Lithuania, he said in the press conference one day before the game. But he didn’t want to speculate about how Rúím would win his team. That testified to a lack of “respect for the opponent,” he thought.
A day later you can read the annoyance of Koeman’s face, if Lithuania makes playing 1-2 after a good half hour, almost out of nowhere. Seven minutes later, that expression makes way for a kind of horror, as well as the equalizer falls. Tired, Koeman steps onto the field, he shakes the head gently. After Thursday’s late draw against Poland, the Netherlands makes it unnecessarily difficult for itself, this time against the number 143 of the world ranking.
Top scorer Memphis Depay will save the evening, with a hard header, fifteen minutes after the break. But the conclusion after Sunday’s stuffy victory is that the Dutch national team, despite all the world class players, is regularly vulnerable. After two spectacular games against Spain, in the Nations League, the Orange was carefully labeled as contender for next summer’s World Cup. But the team has great difficulty to deliver high level.
Good start
Koeman opts for no less than five changes against Lithuania. One is forced: Jerdy Schouten replaces the injured Frenkie de Jong, defensive in midfield. In the defense, Jan Paul van Hecke and Micky van de Ven make way for the more experienced Stefan de Vrij and Nathan Aké. Quinten Timber takes the place of Ryan Gravenbergh next to Schouten.
Koeman hopes to be able to play so more compelling than against Poland. And in the opening phase of the competition that also works. After ten minutes, the Orange has almost 85 percent possession of the ball, and regularly combines beautifully through the Lithuanian rear. The home team starts extremely awaiting, with almost the entire team right in front of the goal, without an ambition to build up.
Yet it takes ten minutes before the first goal falls. Memphis Depay shoots up close, on a pass from Cody Gakpo. It is his 51st goal as International, one more than the previous record holder, Robin van Persie. His teammates hoist the attacker on their shoulders and show him to their own supporters, as if the story of the evening has already been written.
A kind of complacency in the team at this point against Poland. The pace was low, Koeman saw “too little urgency” to expand the lead. That lack of threat and initiative was punished ten minutes before time by Matty Cash, who shot hard in the upper corner after a nice attack. On a visit in Lithuania, Koeman wanted to prevent a repeat of that scenario.
Nevertheless, the pace will also collapse on Sunday evening after the compelling opening phase. The bright sprints deep in midfield make way for hiking football, with especially possession in the rear. Several times, goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen stands still with the ball under his foot, waiting for a Lithuanian attacker to rush him, creating space elsewhere on the field.
Patient
But Lithuania is patient, remains disciplined compact. And when the Dutch national team increases the pace, the game is often too sloppy to become dangerous. Jerdy Schouten just delivers the ball several times, some of his passes ends meters next to a teammate. A pass from Gakpo ends on the leg of an opponent, at that time the only obstacle in the wider area. A creatively intended free ball from Depay also comes for Timber as a surprise, after which he will waste the ball.
Due to a lucky one, the 0-2 still falls: grinding from the right threateningly, tries whether he can shoot, and then gives a pass on Timber. The ball is inaccurate, but because a Lithuanian defender makes the ball jump off his foot, the midfielder of Feyenoord still gets the chance to shoot. He rounds off a very tight corner.
Lithuania has not been dangerous. But that changes as soon as Schouten assumes awkward and makes the ball jump off his foot. Justas Lasickas sprints away with it, unhindered by the right flank of Orange. In the penalty area, he finds Schouten again, who can easily be passed. Lasickas responds to Gvidas Gineitis, who shoots the ball past goalkeeper Verbruggen.
The equalizer also arises from an unnecessary error: Stefan de Vrij hangs in a head duel in a shock -in around his opponent and gets a free ball against, not far from his own goal. With the pass that follows, Gakpo lets his opponent, the long central defender Edvinas Girdvainis, walk out of his back, who heads the ball into the disbelief of many Dutch players.
Window of Dumfries
After the break, little changes the game of Orange. The fact that Koeman’s team is again the lead is mainly due to a whim of Denzel Dumfries, in attacking terms lately so often important for the Netherlands and his team Inter. He comes up through the right and gives a high pass on Depay, who jumps much higher than his opponent and heads.
The orange does not get the predominance back. Until the last minute, Koeman’s team looks insecure, doubtful. The pronounced favorite no longer tries to build up, combining via the gifted midfielders to the hostile goal, but often loses the ball before the center line is in sight, after which a new Lithuanian attack follows. It is significant that after 88 minutes the national coach takes an attacker off the field to bring Matthijs de Ligt: a fifth defender, to maintain the tight lead.