The attacker, who wore the captain’s armband on Saturday evening, looked back soberly on the lost opportunity. “I miss him, unfortunately that can happen. You have the winner on your shoe, but yes… This draw does feel like defeat, yes.”
Still, Depay saw earlier that it was a difficult evening for his team. “We knew we had to stay calm and those opportunities would come. Only then will you get that 0-2 after the break, which is a bit of a knock.”
When asked whether the captaincy gave him extra pressure, he was clear: “One has nothing to do with the other, that pressure is always there.”
Lessons for proud Van Gaal
National coach Louis van Gaal was proud of how his team fought back, but did find many mistakes. For example, at the 1-0, where goalkeeper Flek did not look good according to the coach: “If the keeper takes a different position, then that goal may not fall.” Yet Van Gaal also had to conclude that the Polish goals came out of nowhere: “They shoot at goal twice and it is twice.”
The coach was also critical of Jurriën Timber. “He didn’t play well, although he did have a strong moment. But believe me, one moment is not enough.” At the same time, Van Gaal also saw why it was less with Timber: “He is on his last legs after a long season.”
Van Gaal busy coaching against Poland
Pro Shots
Van Gaal also saw that Memphis was not doing his best. “Memphis didn’t play its best game, that’s for sure. He also misses a penalty. Well, luckily he does now. At the World Cup, he just shoots them in.”
In the end, the national coach let it be known that he was satisfied with his men. “The boys sat disappointed in the dressing room, as if the draw was a defeat. But I am proud of them.” Learning also pulled the coach out of the game: „For the first time, we are playing against an opponent who is defending with almost ten men. We have to deal with that too.”
Spirit
Davy Klaassen, maker of the 1-2, saw an exciting second half. “At least enough happened and we also showed spirit.” The Ajax player saw Poland’s quick 0-2 as a downer: “It seemed offside from my position, but apparently it wasn’t.”
Frenkie de Jong shared in his teammate’s disappointment: “It is good that we are coming back, but the draw is disappointing.” De Jong saw reasons why it was more difficult than in previous matches. “We made wrong choices on the ball and Poland kept it a lot smaller than, for example, Belgium did.” The Barcelona midfielder also had some complaints about the referee, who cleared a serious foul on De Jong with a yellow card. “I don’t think the referee had his day. But hey, that can happen one day.” Van Gaal held back, but noted the same: “Let me put it euphemistically, we didn’t have the referee with us tonight.”