original title:
Qatar World Cup丨Yue Dongxing’s point of view: Holland is lukewarm or will make big efforts in the future
Xinhua News Agency, Doha, November 30
Reporter Yue Dongxing
After three matches in the group stage, even though the Dutch team has advanced to the top 16 of the World Cup in Qatar, they have not played impressive attacking football, it seems that they cannot be compared with other strong teams such as Brazil and France who have shown their “champions” Was once labeled “boring”.
When will the Dutch team, which has won the second place of the World Cup three times and is known as the “king without a crown”, break out as a representative of beautiful football?
The reporter believes that as the program enters the knockout stage, the “Orange Army” may not be able to play brilliantly in terms of technical and tactical styles due to their two advantages, but it is expected to work hard in the future and will achieve a good score result.
On the evening of the 29th at the Gulf Stadium, the “Oranje” continued the formation of 352 “three central defenders + two full-backs” played by the tactician Van Gaal in the 2-0 expulsion of Qatar. Top centre-back Van Dijk leads the defence, Blind and Dumfries look after both attack and defence, De Roon and De Jong are partners in midfield, Klaassen “threads the needle” in the midfield position, and Depay and Gakpo form a double striker.
Considering that another world-class central defender, De Ligt, is on the bench, the defense led by captain Van Dijk can be considered one of the strongest in this cup, which is one of the advantages of the Dutch team. In the round of 16, solid defense is often the key to a strong team that has the last laugh in “strong dialogue”.
Up front, teenager Jacques, who has scored goals in three consecutive matches, is in good shape. As a winger he has adapted to the central position. His excellent inside cut, speed and breakthrough ability are the key to the Dutch team’s attack. In addition, Weghorst, who came off the bench on the evening of the 29th, is a great center at 1.97 meters tall, his ability to protect the ball, header and grab points also provided the Dutch team with another solution to break the deadlock .
Secondly, the famous coach Van Gaal is good at developing tactics, and his purposeful disposition is the key to the Dutch team’s hope of gradually exerting its strength.
In this cup, many teams have chosen the 352 style of play of “three centre-backs + two full-backs”, derived from Van Gaal’s masterpiece 8 years ago. In the 2014 World Cup, in order to make up for the shortcomings of the Dutch team’s defense and curb the defending champion Spain’s magnificent pass control, Van Gaal, who led the team to the match, at that time rarely organized a new formation of three central defenders and two full-backs. 5:1 swept away the “Matador”, ended the “golden age” of the Spaniards and created another classic of “The Flying Dutchman”.
In addition to the two advantages, the Dutch team’s shortcomings are also more evident: the defense is stronger than the attack and the midfielder lacks creativity and impact.
Since the world’s best central defender Stam said goodbye to the national team in 2004, although Dutch football has a large number of offensive and organizational players with distinctive characteristics and super personal skills, such as Robben, Van Persie and Sneijder, they have not been able to able to wait for one The leaders of the defense, let them display their talent in the frontcourt with confidence.
But who would have guessed that when they said goodbye to the green field with endless regrets, the strong youth training system of the Dutch team trained three best defenders at once – Van Dijk, De Ligt and Ake. In the midfield position there have been no players to match ‘Robbens’, and that could be a shame for ‘Van Dijks’ as well.
Subsequently, the Dutch team will first meet the weaker team from the United States in the round of 16. If they progress, they could avoid holders France, who are expected to finish top of Group D, in the quarter-finals. Opponents gradually get stronger, which can often spur your own improvement. What kind of performance Van Gaal’s team will deliver is exciting.
