Orange has to settle for point against Poland after Memphis missed penalty in extra time | Dutch football

By Sjoerd Mossou

The captivating evening of football ended in an atmosphere of passionate Polish song, after a match that shone until the last minutes. Although the visitors gave away a 0-2 lead in the Kuip, the fun was no less among the thousands of Polish fans.

The 2-2 draw led the Orange to disappointment above all. Precisely in the own Kuip, usually an impregnable hurdle, the feeling of completely unnecessary loss of points in the Nations League remained. Not least because of the crazy final phase, in which Memphis Depay missed a penalty – and a series of chances did not lead to the win.

Still, the draw was certainly not completely undeserved, over the entire ninety minutes. National coach Louis van Gaal was still very optimistic beforehand, partly thanks to an excellent training session this week and the excellent 1-4 win over Belgium with almost the same players. But once on the field of De Kuip, there was little left of it at first.

Orange started well, but made a tired, unconcentrated impression before the break. Although Poland withdrew for its own goal, there were indeed spaces for the Netherlands, especially over the sides. Almost consistently every hopeful phase ended in sloppiness.

Balls that jumped off the foot, careless passes, misunderstandings: the Dutch national team struggled just as hard with itself as with the opponent. Poland put in a dogged match, without star player Robert Lewandowski.

It was helped by a moment in the nineteenth minute, when Matty Cash steamed towards the tip of the penalty area. The right back lunged and shot low into the long corner, through Daley Blind’s legs, partly as a result of which keeper Mark Flek did not make too strong an impression: 0-1.

That rapid backlog forced the Dutch national team to turn the switch one more time, despite the killer schedule after a long season. That was hardly possible before rest. Steven Berghuis once shot well from a distance, after which Daley Blind missed the rebound, but the Orange did not force many more opportunities for a long time.

In the second half it quickly became more difficult. A quick Polish combination put Przemyslaw Frankowski in a flash alone in front of Flek, who simply served the following Piotr Zielinski: 0-2. An attack on the edge of offside, the linesman initially flagged, but after consultation with the VAR, the goal still counted. In the stands a party immediately erupted among the thousands of Poles, also with the watching Lewandowski and other substitutes in the Maas stand.

However, the euphoria did not last long. Within a few minutes it was already 1-2, after finally a fine attack from the left. Daley Blind gave the cross, Davy Klaassen, who had passed through, nicely tapped in. Not much later it was right again. A deep ball to Steven Bergwijn eventually ended up with Denzel Dumfries, who hit through a Polish leg: 2-2. Also this time, referee Halil Umut Meler needed the VAR to make the right decision.

Orange immediately tried to push through. In the final phase with a conversion, with Memphis initially playing in the back of the duo Bergwijn and Cody Gakpo – and then with Wout Weghorst as pinchhitter. This did not immediately lead to a spectacular final offensive, partly because Poland remained dangerous in the counterattack.

Only in the last minutes did the Orange get its greatest opportunities. Memphis cut and turned first through the penalty area, not much later the striker got the ultimate chance, but ran into keeper Lukasz Skorupski. Thanks to a light handball from Matty Cash and the VAR, Memphis still got a second chance, but the striker shot the awarded penalty wildly against the outside of the post. Also in stoppage time keeper Skorupski remained upright, to the delight of the Polish supporters.

Standings in League A – group 4
1. Netherlands 3-7 (+4)
2. Belgium 3-4 (+2)
3. Poland 3-4 (-4)
4. Wales 3-1 (-2)