Ryan Gravenberch made his basic debut for the the Dutch squad on Tuesday, but did not leave a crushing impression. Marco van Basten believes that the nineteen-year-old midfielder of Ajax made an ‘unusual impression’, he says in the studio of the NOS. The former striker expects Marten de Roon to regain his base place for the eighth finals on Sunday, unlike Wout Weghorst.
“I think Malen has a good chance, but Gravenberch less so”, Van Basten says. Gravenberch replaced Marten de Roon against North Macedonia (0-3 win) who had picked up a yellow card against Austria (2-0 win). “I thought Gravenberch made an uncomfortable impression. He was a bit doubtful at times, he made mistakes and I’m not used to that from him. It seemed as if he had to get used to the level at the Dutch national team a bit.”
“Slops are a bit of nervousness, you can’t have that anymore at this level. Apparently the level is very different than at Ajax, otherwise I can’t explain it. He struggled with certain things, getting into the team and into the game. That’s a shame because he’s just a good player. Some people deal with these kinds of things more easily than other players,” Van Basten continues. The former national coach would bring Malen into the starting eleven for the eighth final at the expense of Weghorst.
“I would choose football and I think most would agree,” says Van Basten. Malen provided an assist against North Macedonia on Memphis Depay’s first goal. Van Basten receives support from Hugo Borst, who is also present, who also believes that Malen should be preferred over Weghorst. “It is very annoying, but in the Netherlands there is only one or a twin brother of that person who thinks Weghorst should play.”
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