NOS Voetbal•gisteren, 23:10
Noa Lang: ‘I asked if they could prepare the shirt’
He was happy with ‘Baka’s’ goal, referring to Johan Bakayoko. “Good for him.” And also with Ricardo Pepi‘s goals. “The first one in particular was great.” But Noa Lang himself was also emphatically present for PSV in the 6-0 home match against PEC Zwolle.
He made it 2-0 shortly before half-time and provided a nice assist for the 4-0 after the break: he lost the ball, helped regain it and then, after a short acceleration, brought Pepi into position past some opponents.
“That’s the player I am: just a bit intuitive. I actually wanted to shoot first, but lost the ball. Immediately put pressure again and made another dribble and kept the overview. Pepi hit it well.”
ANNPoa Lang shoots PSV to 2-0
Lang is again bursting with self-confidence after the past twelve months in which injuries bothered him and kept him off the football field. “I always have enough self-confidence. No one has to worry about that. I know that if I am fit, no one will stop me in the Netherlands anyway. No one in Europe, I think. I’m just saying that.”
‘So agreed’
The 25-year-old left winger, who scored the 0-1 against Paris Saint-Germain last Tuesday in the Champions League match that ended 1-1, has also appeared again in the sights of national coach Ronald Koeman, who has included him in the provisional selection of the Dutch national team for the upcoming matches with Hungary and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Although Lang wasn’t surprised by that. “For me it was only logical. Last time I wasn’t there because I had a bit of trouble again. It was better not to go. And that time before it was actually the same. We had agreed on it that way. Now I feel better. I assume I’ll be back there soon. That’s nice after a year.”
ANNPoa Lang during the international match against Greece last year
His last appearance in the Dutch team dates from September 10, 2023, when he was allowed to win his tenth international match thanks to his substitute appearance against Ireland. Despite all his bravado, Lang does not dare to say whether the eleventh will soon follow suit. “That’s up to the national coach,” he says with a smile.
Steel
He realizes that Koeman has more flavors available on the left in the attack. “There is of course also a top player in Cody (Gakpo, ed.). That is great competition. But I am sure if I just keep doing my thing and I get my chance, I will take it.”
Minutes in Orange would be a nice ending to a turbulent period. “Yes, it was a strange year. But it’s nice that I can now look ahead and hopefully focus on football instead of my hamstring pain. Shit year.”
