NOS Football•Monday, 00:13
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Jesse Wieten
editor of the Dutch national team
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Jesse Wieten
editor of the Dutch national team
This period – the Netherlands meets today for the Nations League matches against Hungary (Friday) and Germany (Monday) – will therefore also be interesting.
Tijjani Reijnders, Joshua Zirkzee and Ryan Gravenberch stood out last time. Who stands out this week and who will take the lead?
Farewell veterans
With the (temporary) farewell to Georginio Wijnaldum and Marten de Roon, the final farewell to Daley Blind, the hope for a full recovery of Frenkie de Jong and the wait for a resurrection of Memphis Depay, many familiar names from recent years are not present. .
Reserve captain Nathan Aké was present in the previous period, but dropped out in the last match against Germany. The Manchester City defender is absent. Of the ‘old’ guard, captain Virgil van Dijk, Stefan de Vrij and Denzel Dumfries will report in Zeist today.
Who can take a new step hierarchically? National coach Ronald Koeman himself mentioned Cody Gakpo. A logical name based on his performance at the Dutch team, but at Liverpool the Eindhoven native is not decisive.
The times of Marco van Basten, Ruud Gullit, Frank Rijkaard and Koeman are far behind us, as are those of Clarence Seedorf, Edgar Davids, Dennis Bergkamp, Arjen Robben, Wesley Sneijder and Robin van Persie. At that time, Dutch internationals were decisive in Europe. Besides Van Dijk, who of the current Dutch players is decisive at a top club in a top European competition?
Time for Koopmeiners at the Dutch team
Xavi Simons is consistent at RB Leipzig, Reijnders has been showing it for some time at AC Milan, Teun Koopmeiners is becoming a bigger gentleman at Juventus, Gravenberch has recently excelled at Liverpool, Micky van de Ven is doing so at Tottenham Hotspur and it is up to Jurriën Timber to do the same at Arsenal.
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NOS
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NOS
The 26-year-old Castricummer was often pale in the Dutch team, but is now of the age for a leading role and now also has a top club behind his name. That counts in terms of status in a group of Dutch internationals. For Koopmeiners it will be a reunion with the Dutch team after missing the European Championship and the previous international match.
Zirkzee and Brobbey seek confirmation
The cheer for strikers Zirkzee and Brian Brobbey after the last two international matches was given a significant nuance last month: both strikers do not score at club level.
After the recent international break, Koeman revealed that after choosing Zirkzee against Bosnia and Herzegovina (5-2) and the chance for Brobbey against Germany (2-2), he wants to play with a permanent striker in the next two games. Zirkzee or Brobbey?
Zirkzee cannot distinguish himself at the flailing Manchester United and coach Erik ten Hag has posted him on the bench in the past three games. It raises the question of whether a transfer from Bologna to United was wise, while the Italian top club AC Milan was also interested.
Brobbey is dry in the Premier League this season. In short, Zirkzee and Brobbey do not offer any certainty up front despite their strong performance last time.
For example, Depay can still harbor hope from Brazil on the way to hopefully full fitness and the now absent Wout Weghorst, as proven again yesterday, is always ready to step in.
Zirkzee and Brobbey have to fight for their place, just like Koopmeiners, Gravenberch, Reijnders, Quinten Timber and everyone else must continue to do so. You have to earn a higher place in the pecking order.
