Feyenoord player Ayase Ueda turns De Kuip upside down and shows what the Dutch team can expect at the World Cup

Ueda himself of course also watched the hour-long draw in the Kennedy Center in Washington on Friday evening, where he saw his own national coach sitting in the room and a few seats further Ronald Koeman with the Dutch delegation. Feyenoord’s Japanese top scorer and his teammate Tsuyoshi Watanabe will discuss the upcoming clash between the Netherlands and Japan with Luciano Valente and Quinten Timber in the coming months. The Dutch internationals will make fun of him about it, but Ueda immediately gave his business card to the entire Dutch team barely 24 hours after the draw.

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In the week that the KNVB officially gave Ueda the goal that was not initially awarded to him against Telstar, so he officially scored fourteen goals in fourteen matches, he increased his total to eighteen with four excellent goals well before Christmas. And if the crowd in De Kuip had had his way, he would also have taken the penalty before the break that he himself was awarded by referee Marc Nagtegaal.

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Timber took care of the ball and made it 3-0 from eleven meters, just when Ueda thought he could score his hat trick in the first half. But five minutes after that moment came his third goal. And what kind.

It is that Peter Houtman is no longer a speaker at De Kuip, otherwise he, as one of the best leaders in the history of Feyenoord, would have spontaneously taken the microphone to cheer on Ueda. The cross was from Gonçalo Borges and the header high in the corner, if it is captured correctly on the plate, one to hang framed above the sofa for years to come.

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The party was not over yet, because the second act was barely ten minutes old when, with that phenomenal jumping power, he once again rose above everything and everyone to hit the target with the head. Ueda almost felt embarrassed as the Legion continued to sing to him.

A day earlier, Robin van Persie emphasized that he wants to play football with Feyenoord that must be attractive to the public every week. That does not always work for an entire match and November was not the best month in terms of results, but his team served the crowd against PEC Zwolle.

Luciano Valente can play a role for the Dutch team

In Japan they will probably consume the images of Ueda or have already consumed them at breakfast (Japan local time). But if we are talking about the World Cup, then there was another man in De Kuip in Valente who captured the imagination and could perhaps play a role on June 14 in Dallas. The blond midfielder, who had just been brought in by Koeman from the Dutch team, received a standing ovation when he was substituted after an hour.

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Every week Valente is the most creative and decisive player. In the first half he gave the best and most beautiful through ball we have seen in the Eredivisie this season. If Ueda, who was played across forty meters across the ground and straight through all lines, had converted that ball into a goal, Valente would have already received a big applause.

The 4-0 lead enabled Van Persie to save legs for the away match for the Europa League in Bucharest next Thursday and the subsequent Classic against Ajax. At halftime he had already replaced Anel Ahmedhodzic with the young talent Thijs Kraaijeveld. After an hour, Sem Steijn was allowed to replace Valente and Gijs Smal, who was playing with pain, was able to give up his place to Jordan Bos. After 70 minutes, the coach also thought it was good for Ueda himself, because it is perhaps more important that he scores a few more goals against FCSB in Romania.

After all, Feyenoord needs victories to continue in the Europa League. The door is still ajar and with Ueda and Valente in this form it may be able to be opened even further.

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The now devastated PEC Zwolle was given the 6-0 in the final minutes by Ueda’s replacement Casper Tengstedt. In the very last second, Koen Kostons saved the honor on behalf of PEC, because he was allowed to connect after Timon Wellenreuther picked up an alleged back pass from debutant Ayoub Ouarghi.