Memphis: ‘The great thing about Orange is that we can say anything after losing’ NOW

Memphis Depay does not want to dramatize the 4-2 defeat to Turkey. The Orange striker is happy that he and his teammates can look back critically on the miserable start of the World Cup qualification.

“I really like one thing about this group,” Memphis said on Thursday at a digital press moment from Zeist. “We can be honest with each other. Everyone can give their opinion and we don’t take anything personally.”

“The vibe in the team is still good, even after such a defeat.

Memphis had a sour feeling from the game in Istanbul. “Yesterday on the way back we already analyzed the game and today the team and staff had the debriefing. We all have to go a step further. That is in quality, sharpness and small details.”

“It makes sense that the players with the most caps show the leadership in this,” said Memphis, who at the age of 27 already has 60 international matches to his name. “But we also like the younger boys to give their opinion. That way we get better together.”

The injured captain Virgil van Dijk is missed on the plane, the striker agreed. “We certainly miss Virgil, but he didn’t do it alone. All players have to coach and help each other on the field.”

‘We should not let ourselves be told that it was dramatic’

The Orange team won only two of the seven international matches under De Boer and was already 3-0 behind on Wednesday shortly after the break. Still, Memphis doesn’t want to make it worse than it is. “We shouldn’t be told it was dramatic.”

“A lot of things were positive, but of course the result sucks”, said the Olympique Lyon attacker. “It was strange, we always had the ball and Turkey only came in front of our goal three times. Still we were 3-0 behind.”

“We also score a goal, I saw that Matthijs de Ligt’s ball was over the line. Donyell Malen still had a good chance and we might have had a penalty in the first half after a handball. And yet we did not give up. At 3-0 we kept fighting and we got back into the game. “

Memphis was also critical of his own performance. “Fortunately I was involved in our goals, but it should have been better. I should have shot a free kick and that penalty at the end of course.”

“Fortunately, the next game is soon”, Memphis referred to the home game against Latvia (Saturday at 6 pm in the ArenA). “Just recover and then we can play again.”