National coach Louis van Gaal has said little about tomorrow’s line-up against Poland. The Dutch national team will then again play a duel in the Nations League. He only hinted that Daley Blind and Denzel Dumfries have a starting spot. Former AZ striker Vincent Janssen is in the stands and plays against Wales on Tuesday.
Furthermore, Van Gaal does not want to make the national coach of Poland any wiser than he already is. “I’m not going to say anything about the line-up. I’d like to tell the public, but it’s also a game of tactics. You’ll see tomorrow.”
More quality than in 2014
It is clear that Blind and Dumfries, who sat next to Van Gaal during the press conference, will start in De Kuip. “Blind has more technical and tactical ability than Dumfries,” says Van Gaal. “It’s very important for our fullbacks to leave spaces open and fill them in. Denzel and Daley decide whether to continue with pressure or not. That’s why I’m calling it 3-4-3 now. That has to do with the quality of the player group. This selection has more quality than the player group at the World Cup in 2014.”
“I think we have the best chance of becoming world champions with this way of playing”
Van Gaal is now mainly busy with the World Cup in Qatar. That tournament starts in November, but there is no real preparation. “I think we have the best chance of becoming world champions with this way of playing. In 2014 we had six weeks to train the system and now we don’t even have a week. This morning we trained 11 against 11 and it could be better Just no.”
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No Janssen tomorrow, Tuesday yes
Janssen, who got married last week and joined the selection on Tuesday, will not play against Poland. “I treat him the same as Jerdy Schouten, for example. He will be in the stands tomorrow, but can be there in the dressing room. Then he knows what to expect. He will play against Wales on Tuesday,” the national coach revealed.
Opponent Poland lost 6-1 to Belgium on Wednesday. Last week, the Orange was still 4-1 too strong for the Belgians. However, Van Gaal does not think his team will win just like that. “It will undoubtedly have some influence, but it was an even game until the last fifteen minutes. Then the goals fell like ripe apples. There was not much difference in quality, so Poland is not a team that we will easily beat.”
Netherlands – Poland starts tomorrow evening at 8.45 pm.
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