ANPRonald Koeman at the press conference
NOS Voetbal•vandaag, 15:25
National coach Ronald Koeman will change his team against Gibraltar in “a handful” of positions compared to the match against Ireland. The Dutch coach wants to give other players the opportunity to prove themselves.
“I want to see some new guys in action,” said Koeman, who noted that despite the busy schedule, no one voluntarily gave up their starting spot. “They all want to have as many caps to their name as possible, so they are not happy if I don’t field them.”
Stefan de Vrij, who sat next to Koeman at the press conference, will in any case be in the starting line-up against Gibraltar tomorrow. The national coach made no statements about the other ten basic players.
Thanks to the victory over the Irish last Saturday (1-0), the Dutch team is already certain of participating in the European Championships next summer. There is therefore nothing at stake against Gibraltar. How does Koeman view such a match for bacon and beans? “You have little to gain in a match like this. We see it as a preparation for the European Championship. With this opponent you want to see intensity and many goals.”
However, it is also important to watch out for overload and new injuries. “Unfortunately, injuries also occur in these types of matches. That is why you have to play very concentrated. Then you can hopefully prevent that.”
All 22 players appeared on the training field on Monday morning. Denzel Dumfries also attended the final training of the Dutch national team towards the final match. The right wing defender, who played his fiftieth international match against Ireland, skipped training in Faro on Sunday: Dumfries was on the exercise bike at the time.
The Dutch team practices against Germany
The Dutch national team will practice against Germany in March in the run-up to the European Championship. Ronald Koeman announced this at the press conference.
If the Netherlands meets the Germans in the group stage of the European Championship, the practice match will be canceled. Koeman said that a friendly home match will also be played in March.
Koeman briefly discussed Wout Weghorst’s much-discussed interview with NOS reporter Arman Avsaroglu, in which the scorer of the 1-0 against Ireland reacted somewhat irritated. The national coach showed understanding for his striker.
“We talked about it. Wout knows he shouldn’t react like that, but it’s also human. I can imagine that something is going on with Wout, if you know how people or the media talk about him. .”
Koeman spoke to Weghorst after interview: ‘He shouldn’t react like that’
2023-11-20 14:25:21
#substitutes #chance #Gibraltar
