For example, ‘San Marco’ criticizes Frenkie de Jong. He believes that the FC Barcelona midfielder does not distribute the game enough. “Well, I did think that Frenkie de Jong did not play much directly forward. It really was a bit of a postman. You would actually expect him to make the game faster. I actually thought that was a disappointment, because his role should be to move the ball quickly from the back to the front. I thought it was striking that he said that yesterday (referring to Sunday evening, ed) didn’t do at all.”
Wim Kieft dissects the Dutch national team: ‘The World Cup team is largely fixed’
The former top striker sees De Jong making few decisive passes at the Dutch team, as his teammate Pedri does. Van Basten: ”That was really hard to find for Frenkie yesterday. A shame actually, because he is a good player who has the overview to send someone forward.”
Approval from Ruud Gullit and Wim Kieft
Van Basten receives support from Ruud Gullit and Wim Kieft: “He plays that fast game at Barcelona,” notes Kieft. Gullit adds: “He comes into his own better there. Everything seems slower in Orange.”
In any case, the Dutch team has a structural problem, Utrecht native Van Basten continues. According to him, the team lacks pace and sharpness as soon as the ball is regained. “In any case, I think that the Dutch national team makes too little use of the moment when they intercept the ball. At that moment you can switch quickly. That is not only good for the attackers, but also important for the midfielders and defenders.”
Dutch team on report: twice a 7.5, but also two unsatisfactory marks against Finland
What does Marco van Basten say about Virgil van Dijk?
Not only De Jong, but also Dutch captain Virgil van Dijk can count on criticism. Van Basten believes that he can help Van Dijk’s mentality. “I think Van Dijk should be the leader. He must set a good example and be the driving force. I miss that with him. I find his mentality easy.”
And: “He is a great player, perhaps the best defender we have in the world. He can head, is fast, big and has a good overview. But he is not the leader who pushes the team forward… and that would actually do the team very good.” There is according to San Marco one man who can still play a positive role in this. “I hope that Arne Slot can make him wiser about this.”