The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly; Holland 3-1 Tunisia.

Ibrahim Ayyub gives his opinion on what went right and what went wrong during Netherlands 3-1 win over Tunisia.

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Greetings from Mexico City again. The Oranje wrapped up the group stage with a comfortable 3-1 victory over Tunisia to win their Group. Ending the group stage with back-to-back wins was great as they get ready for the knockout stages.

THE GOOD

No one can complain about slow starts concerning this Oranje team. It took the Oranje just seventeen minutes to be up 2-0 against Sweden. For an encore, it only took them seven minutes to go up 2-0 against Tunisia. Tunisia gifted the Oranje with an own goal courtesy of Skhiri in the third minute. Brian Brobbey then scored his third goal of the World Cup four minutes later. Perhaps Brobbey is answer to the prayers for a striker that the Oranje has sorely missed. His fine performances ensure that Weghorst and Depay are not the starting choice up front.

The Oranje concluded the group stage with ten goals and conceding four goals. Five different players scoring in three matchs is a welcomed sight. Another welcomed sight was seeing Justin Kluivert get his World Cup debut, and to remind us how time flies. It was nearly thirty years ago when Kluivert featured for the Oranje in the 1998 World Cup. It’s a nice way of bringing the past to the present involving father and son Oranje players. The last time this occurred was in 2014 with Daley Blind representing the Oranje after his father, Danny Blind, represented the Oranje in the 90s, as an unused substitute in both 1990 and 1994 World Cups, but he did feature in Euro 92 and 96.

THE BAD

Well, besides being told that the FIFA Fan Fest in Polanco, Mexico City was going to show the Holland Tunisia, and then ended up showing Japan v Sweden instead, so I had to watch the match at a Hooters, there were some negatives. Conceding a goal against the woeful Tunisian team is a minor complaint, but it was also not a ringing endorsement on the performance of the backline. That goal will serve as a reminder that this defense is still vulnerable. The Oranje failed to keep a clean sheet in all three group stage matches, and that should give something Koeman to work on and make the players know there’s still work to be done.

Furthermore, failing to score more goals after such a quick start was a bit disappointing. We got spoiled when we saw the Oranje score five times against Sweden, and a route seemed on the horizon against the hapless Tunisians. It doesn’t happen often that the Oranje blowout teams at the World Cup. The first route was a 4-1 victory over Bulgaria followed by a 4-0 victory against Argentina in 1974, a 5-1 victory against Austria in 1978, a 5-0 victory against South Korea in 1998, and a 5-1 victory against Spain in 2014. What matters is the win and the three points, but this was a wasted chance for players to score more goals and also entertain their fans.

THE UGLY

The Netherlands win Group F and what is their reward? A Round of 32 clash against Morocco. Talk about the luck of the draw. Other group winners such as Argentina got Cape Verde and England got Congo. Yet, the Oranje got Morocco who are one of the best teams from Africa, and semi-finalists from the last World Cup. That should be enough for the Oranje to not underestimate the Moroccans and take them seriously. If the Oranje advance, they then will face Canada. Hopefully Koeman and the leaders make sure that they do not look ahead to Canada

Unfortunately, the fact the Round of 32 match is to be played in Monterrey, Mexico is another disadvantage for the Oranje. Mexicans have not gotten over about the Arjen Robben penalty call during their Round of 16 elimination at the 2014 World Cup. The defeat resulted in the popular chant “¡No era penal!” (It wasn’t a penalty) based on the Robben penalty that still stings to this day with El Tri fans. Hopefully the Oranje faithful will pack the stadium in Monterrey and be loud, since it seems unlikely that home fans in attendance will be neutral during the match.  

Where Have All The Oranje Strikers Gone?

Over many years, the Oranje have been blessed up front with superb strikers. During the good times and bad times, the Oranje always had players who were a threat up front. However, as the team continues its revival under Ronald Koeman, the lack of quality strikers is a concern. With Euro 2020 on the horizon, can Koeman overcome this concern or will it impact his work in returning the Oranje to international competitions.

• By Ibrahim Ayyub
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The Oranje have had a great success up front since their glory days of the late 1980’s. Marco van Basten and Ruud Gullit spearheaded the attack during Euro 88. Dennis Bergkamp came on the scene during Euro 92 and later on with Patrick Kluivert becoming his partner in crime in the late 90s, they replaced the retired Van Basten and Gullit. The Dutch had such a dearth of talent in the 90s that saw them call up Pierre van Hooijdonk and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink along with Bergkamp and Kluivert for World Cup 1998.

The competition to play upfront was so intense that even the likes of Roy Makaay, 2003 European Golden Boot winner, wasn’t able to get sufficient playing minutes once Dennis Bergkamp retired after Euro 2000. Ruud van Nistelrooy had burst onto the scene following Bergkamp’s retirement, but he along with Kluivert, Hasselbaink and Van Hooijdonk couldn’t steer the team to World Cup 2002. Ultimately, the latter three’s playing time for the Oranje ended as Van Nistelrooy became the top gun for the Oranje. However, his reign would be short-lived after butting heads with the Oranje manager Van Basten during World Cup 2006 and he would not feature for the Oranje after Euro 2008. In the meantime, the likes of Robin van Persie, Dirk Kuyt and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar emerged on the scene for the Oranje as they, along with Arjen Robben and Wesley Sneijder, helped guide the Oranje to their third World Cup Final in 2010.

Unfortunately, the Oranje have struggled to replace Van Persie, Kuyt and Huntelaar prior to and subsequent to Koeman’s arrival as manager. Koeman has relied on Ryan Babel, who is in his early 30s, to lead the charge upfront. Even though he is in mid 30s, Huntelaar has been superb for Ajax during their own recent revival, so it was a surprise to see him left out of the Oranje side that features many of his current teammates.

OptaJohan

✔@OptaJohan

322 - Robin van Persie scored 322 career goals in 695 games, including 50 for the Netherlands, making him the all-time top goalscorer for the Dutch national team. Farewell.

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1:54 PM - May 12, 2019

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It is disappointing that this Oranje revival comes at a time when there is a lack of excellent Dutch strikers. This decade alone has seen only four Dutch players lead the Eredivisie in scoring. Bas Dost, Memphis Depay, Vincent Janssen and Luuk de Jong. Only Memphis has been performing well for the Oranje but he is more of a 10 than a striker while the other three have failed to impress when called upon. Bas Dost is 30 now and seems to surplus to requirements, while Luuk de Jong is 29 and about to play in his fourth league in Spain with Sevilla, after playing in Holland, Germany and England. Vincent Janssen is 25 and his career stalled ever since moving to Tottenham in 2016 and is now starting a new chapter in Mexico with Monterrey which probably makes him an afterthought for now.

Time will tell if Koeman will continue to rely on Babel or will he entrust other players such as Wout Weghorst, Quincy Promes, Justin Kluivert to play up front. Who knows, maybe a new rising star, such as Donyell Malen, will appear and shine for the Oranje very much akin to Matthijs de Ligt and Frenkie de Jong. In the meantime, perhaps Koeman should not ignore Klaas-Jan Huntelaar while he tries to solve this issue.

OptaJohan

✔@OptaJohan

34 - Prior to tonight's game vs APOEL Nicosia, Klaas Jan Huntelaar averaged a goal every 34 minutes of play for @AFCAjax in the 2019-20 season (4 goals in 136 minutes). Executor.

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1:53 PM - Aug 28, 2019

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