Just like in Cardiff, the devil was in the tail and the Orange cashed the equalizer in injury time. This time from the staff spot after Romanian referee Fesnic had penalized an apparently ordinary duel by Tyrell Malacia with a penalty. Gareth Bale did the job coolly, but just like in Wales, the Orange showed a Houdini act. From the kick-off it was 3-2 by a goal from Memphis Depay.
When making the line-up, Van Gaal had stuck to the substitutions he has used during this international period and so by and large the team appeared at the kick-off, which had also played the away game against Wales.
There were some changes compared to the Cardiff game. Jasper Cillessen, who had to pass against Poland last Saturday, defended the goal this time, while Bruno Martins Indi now played as the leftmost defender in the three-man block. Matthijs de Ligt, who wore the captain’s armband, was central to the defense block, and there was a starting spot for Frenkie de Jong in midfield. The fact that the Barcelona midfielder is the only international to have received a base place three times in this international period shows how indispensable he is for the Orange in the eyes of Van Gaal.
The most striking newcomer to the Orange squad was striker Vincent Janssen, who made his comeback in the Dutch national team after almost five years. The striker, emphatically coveted by Royal Antwerp FC, joined after his wedding in the United States at the beginning of the week and had impressed on the training field.
Janssen was not very happy in the finish against Wales on the few chances he got, but he proved his value as a point of contact. The striker showed that he is almost impossible to get off the ball and usually had a good continuation. Van Gaal is looking for a striker with such qualities for his World Cup selection, the national coach had indicated in advance.
The striker of the Mexican Monterrey also immediately received an assist by passing the ball to Noa Lang, who made the 1-0 with a nice individual action in the 17th minute. Cutting and turning the former Ajax player was too much for the Welsh defenders. It marked the first goal in Orange for the Club Brugge player, who wants to take the step up this summer and is coveted by AC Milan, among others.
Noa Lang celebrates the 1-0 with Cody Gakpo.
ANP/HH
Moments later, it was 2-0 after a good push from PSV player Cody Gakpo, who luckily got the ball back through a Welsh defender, and then finished off cool. The second Orange goal of the Eindhoven resident, who was emphatically present as number ten behind the striker duo Janssen-Lang.
For the players of the so-called B-choice, who, despite the victory in Cardiff, had not left an unforgettable impression there, the match in De Kuip was also dominated by proving themselves with a view to the World Cup selection.
Cody Gakpo is happy after his 2-0.
ANP/HH
Where Gakpo, Lang and, for example, Tyrell Malacia also succeeded with verve, it was again not Jordan Teze’s evening. The PSV player unnecessarily went for a walk with the ball just after the 2-0, was put off the ball by two Welshmen and thus initiated a quick counterattack, which was completed by Brennan Johnson.
Teze has not been able to give a convincing business card this international period and does not seem to have done good business with a view to the World Cup selection. It was therefore a sign on the wall that Teze had to make way for Stefan de Vrij in the break. And Hans Hateboer also had to clear the field. Before him, Denzel Dumfries came into the squad. With these two in the team, it was better defensively, although Wales came out dangerous now and then through the lightning-fast Johnson.
Apart from Teze’s mistake, it was worrying that the Orange did not manage to keep a clean sheet against Wales for the sixth game in a row. In that respect, the 3-4-3 or 3-4-1-2 system introduced by Van Gaal has not (yet) provided more defensive security, which in the past has always been an important motivation for switching to a system with three centre-backs. Since the introduction of the new way of playing, the Orange squad has conceded eight goals in six international matches. In the World Cup qualifiers, when the Dutch national team still started with the classic 4-3-3 system, the number of goals against in seven international matches was only four.
As it was still only 2-1 after 69 minutes, Wales smelled their chance to take a result, just like in the previous game against the Belgians (1-1 due to a late goal). National coach Rob Page brought in his big star Gareth Bale, which gave the Welsh team something extra. Van Gaal responded immediately by bringing in Memphis Depay and Steven Bergwijn for Janssen and Lang.
The guests had a great chance to equalize via Harry Wilson, while on the other side Gakpo saw a shot being cracked. Partly due to the fresh forces at the front, Orange managed to seize the initiative again in the final phase. Yet it still seemed to go wrong at the hands of arbitrator Fesnic, but that was not counted on the provoked Depay, who once again proved his great value for the Orange. Depay now stands on 42 goals for the Orange, just as many as Klaas-Jan Huntelaar.
Due to the victory, the Dutch national team is still in the lead in the group with ten points from four matches, Belgium is second with seven points from three matches due to a 1-0 victory over Poland, while Poland and Wales are already well behind.