The Netherlands may have fallen just short in the UEFA Nations League but they are back as one of the world’s best again
It’s not ‘Total Football’ but the Dutch are well and truly back on the football map.They came up just short in the Nations League final this weekend after losing to hosts Portugal 1-0 but their progress has been excellent recently.
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4The Dutch were beaten by Cristiano Ronaldo’s PortugalIf you cast your mind back five years and Dutch football is entering a sustained period in the wilderness despite a surprise third-place finish at the 2014 World Cup.The Oranje then failed to make the next two tournaments (Euro 2016 and World Cup 2018) but times are changing and this latest batch of Dutch stars are hungry to deliver success. Unlike the days when Johan Cruyff was at the peak of his playing powers, the Netherlands’ recent success has been built on their water-tight defence.Captain Virgil van Dijk is a born leader and a world-class centre-back with some even tipping him to win the Ballon d’Or this year. He’s also a winner now having won the Champions League and the PFA Player of the Year award too.Alongside him is one of Europe’s most promising players in Ajax captain Matthijs de Ligt – who is wanted by just about every elite club out there including Liverpool, Manchester United, Barcelona and Juventus.
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4De Ligt shakes hands with Ronaldo, fuelling speculation Ronaldo is trying to convince the defender to join JuventusEn route to the finals in Portugal, Ronald Koeman’s men relegated rivals Germany and beat world champions France in a very competitive group – keeping clean sheets in their home victories against the Germans and the French.But it’s not just the centre-backs who have the defence on lockdown.They have probably the world’s best reserve goalkeeper in Barca stopper Jasper Cillessen as their No.1 while 23-year-old right-back Denzel Dumfries is showing promise.Former Manchester United man Daley Blind played the Nations League at left-back and his ability on the ball makes him good enough to play in midfield but as we’ll see later, there’s just no room for the veteran.
Football's top transfers from the 2019 summer transfer window so far And in reserve they have Bournemouth’s highly rated centre-back Nathan Ake.The Netherlands are pretty decent going forward too even if it’s not as free flowing as the glory days of Total Football.Ex-Liverpool man Ryan Babel always causes problems for the opposition in a Netherlands shirt.Meanwhile, Manchester United flop Memphis Depay is living up to his initial hype and scored a few goals in their group matches.The pair are not natural finishers but their workmanlike approaches to matches is effective and their high pressing causes the opponent to make mistakes, including England defender John Stones.
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4Depay dispossessed Stones which led to a goal during the Netherlands’ victory over EnglandDon’t forget about PSV frontman Steve Bergwijn, 21, either, who is getting better every time he plays for the Dutch.Their midfielders were in excellent form in their semi-final victory over England – the likes of Barcelona bound Frenkie de Jong and Marten de Roon passed the ball around the Three Lions midfield with ease.Meanwhile, the underrated and tremendously athletic Georginio Wijnaldum, who took his game up another few levels at Liverpool last season, makes constant darting runs in the box and then has the energy to track back too.Ajax star Donny van de Beek, who has been heavily linked with a move to Tottenham and Manchester United this summer, can’t nail down a place in the starting XI at present. The Dutch are not quite the finished article, however.Indeed they would have won the Nations League if they were and they had a slight wobble in Euro 2020 qualifying when they were beaten 3-2 by the Germans in Amsterdam earlier this year.But they’re in a group alongside Northern Ireland, Belarus and Estonia so they’ll have nothing to worry about when it comes to making the European Championships – a competition they have a great chance of reaching the latter stages of.The sky’s the limit for this new crop of Dutch talent.
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4Dutch football is coming back
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