Perfect. This is the right word, to describe how Netherland national team performed, when they beat Turkey 6-1, Wednesday in the 2022 World Cup qualifying match for the European zone at the Johan Cruyff Arena. Because Louis Van Gaal’s team was able to make the Star Crescent Team suffer throughout the game. The first goal even came immediately in the first minute, after Davy Klaasen successfully completed Memphis Depay’s assist. The dominance of ball possession and a steady flow of play made them successfully coup the top of the Group G standings with ease.
In fact, in the previous meeting, Turkey was able to beat the Netherlands with a score of 4-2, thanks to the inspiration of Burak Yilmaz’s hat-trick. But the defeat was paid off in Amsterdam, thanks to Memphis Depay’s hat-trick inspiration. De Oranje’s perfect appearance this time was astonishing. They were able to appear dynamic, and sent Senol Gunes’ team into chaos in Amsterdam. Hakan Calhanoglu et al had to play with ten men since the end of the first half.
The reason, Caglar Soyuncu pocketed a second yellow card, due to violating Davy Klaasen in the forbidden box. Without this Leicester City defender, Turkey’s job will be even more difficult. Their only solace came from Cengiz Under’s goal in second-half injury time. On the other hand, Team Orange is able to run rampant with Van Gaal’s attacking tactics. In addition to Depay and Klaasen, Donyell Malen and Guus Til also recorded names on the scoreboard.
The brilliant performance of Memphis Depay et al really made the Dutch national team feel like they were reborn. This mix of former mentor Jose Mourinho’s tactics proved to be effective, and his courage to field young players was able to make the team look fresher, thanks to the right mix of young and senior players. In addition to playing Malen and Guus Til (22 years old), the Iron Tulip also made his debut for Devyne Rensch, an 18-year-old defender from Ajax Amsterdam. They were able to mix well with senior players such as Virgil Van Dijk, Daley Blind and Gini Wijnaldum.
Under the rule, refreshment was also carried out by the former Manchester United coach, by fielding Justin Bijlow, a 23-year-old goalkeeper from Feyenoord Rotterdam club. Previously, this was rarely seen, because senior names such as Maarten Stekelenburg, Tim Krul and Jesper Clessen used to be regular customers. This is a good signal, because what has been missing in the Dutch national team has been found again, namely a mix of tactics and the right mix of young-senior players.
Interestingly, this proves that the Van Gaal-style strategy, which was mocked by the British media as a “circling strategy” has not yet been exhausted, and has even proven to be effective.
For now, the Dutch national team has pocketed the same points as Norway (13), which at the same time beat Gibraltar with a comfortable 5-1 score, thanks to the inspiration of Erling Haaland’s hat-trick. But, thanks to the advantage on goal difference, Virgil Van Dijk et al have the right to sit at the top of the standings, while controlling the situation. The current situation is quite in favor of the Dutch.
In the next three matches, they only have to face Latvia, Gibraltar and Montenegro, which they have previously beaten. Incidentally, in the international break next October, Turkey and Norway will face each other. This could be a good opportunity to make a distance of points in the standings. A rapid progress for the size of a team that had made a slow start in qualifying.
Practically, the hardest challenge is facing Norway in the final. However, when facing Erling Haaland et al, the Netherlands will act as the host, so the situation is a little more favorable. The rest, just depends on how consistent the Dutch national team is after this. If you are able to maintain and even improve the quality of the current level of play, it seems that qualifying for Qatar is not a difficult matter. Do you think they can make it?
ASL
