Foreign media hard for Orange: ‘Lack of energy, danger and creativity is alarming’ | football world cup

The Netherlands ‘may not complain about the draw’, writes the Belgian newspaper The last news. ‘The impotent Orange could not convince and OOur northern neighbors must be satisfied. In a boring spectacle, the Netherlands crossed the line with hanging and strangling a 1-1 draw against Ecuador. The Orange group still has the group win within reach, but the lack of energy, goal danger and creativity is alarming.’

Also The Guardian believes that the Netherlands got off well. “The score was tied, but the game was anything but that. Ecuador will be disappointed not to take the three points. They kept the Netherlands under extreme pressure for long periods and came close to a second goal several times.’ The British newspaper also finds the effect of Memphis Depay’s raid disappointing. ‘The Netherlands was close to disorder. There was no offensive pattern to be recognized. Depay has not made any difference except for one action.’

The BBC mainly puts the ball down to Ecuador. “They will be frustrated that they didn’t get more out of the game. They had a total of 14 shots, 4 of which were on target, while the Netherlands only had one.” That shot (which also resulted in the only goal for the Orange) came from Cody Gakpo, a name that fell to several English clubs during the transfer period. The high score of the British medium for the PSV player (7.3) was mainly due to the hit. “He was unable to have an impact on the game after the goal.”

Mundo Deportivo sees Gakpo as the only bright spot on the Orange side and describes him as ‘the sharp point of a blunt team’. The Catalan sports newspaper is ruthless in the analysis of the Orange and also refers to the mediocre performance in the first World Cup match, when the Orange won 2-0 due to late goals from Gakpo and Klaassen. ,,The win against Senegal camouflaged the game of the Netherlands. It lacked football and fierceness, which seemed to be back for a while against Ecuador after the early goal. But Ecuador understood the tactics and knew how to defend against Frenkie de Jong. Every time he tried to launch an attack, he encountered obstacles from the Ecuadorians.’ The newspaper also noticed that the Orange did not react after the equalizer. ‘The crossbar was the best friend of the Dutch’, this is how Ecuador’s huge chance of 2-1 is referred to.

Also the French sports newspaper L’Equipe saw similarities between the duel with Senegal and that with Ecuador. “But this time they failed to get a win – which would have been enough for qualifying. Ecuador dominated and brought the Orange to the point of breaking. With a bit of luck they could have turned everything upside down. The Netherlands can count itself very lucky with a point.’

The Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport describes Orange as a ‘cynical team’. “They have three shots on target at the World Cup and three goals at the World Cup, two of them against Senegal. That’s mostly luck. If there was one team that deserved to win, it was Ecuador.’

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