Frank de Boer explained his much-discussed substitution in the second half of the game between the the Dutch and the Czech Republic (0-2). Shortly after the red card for Matthijs de Ligt, Donyell Malen had to make way for Quincy Promes. The switch did not work out well and led to criticism from analysts such as Wesley Sneijder, Rafael van der Vaart and René van der Gijp. In conversation with the NOS De Boer says that Malen can actually play no longer than sixty to seventy minutes in a tough game.
“Donyell is a very explosive player. Sixty minutes is actually his tax in these kinds of matches at the moment,” says De Boer. The national coach already had the plan in advance to remove Malen from the field. “My plan was to bring in Weghorst for Donyell. But we were going to play 4-4-1. Then you have a boy who can go up and down the line, also stands his ground defensively and hopefully offensively too,” he refers to the substitute Promes.
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Van Hooijdonk called the substitution a ‘Advocaatje’, a reference to the substitution of Dick Advocaat in the European Championship match against the same opponent in 2004: Paul Bosvelt for Arjen Robben. “Of course it is always easy from the side. We know that Donyell is a fantastic player. We know that he is finished after sixty or seventy minutes. We have to take that into account. We know how the boys are put together. This was actually kind of predicted.” Pierre van Hooijdonk calls De Boer’s explanation ‘unusual’. “We also see that match, right? Malen was by far the most dangerous attacker, whose pipe was far from empty in my eyes,” says the former attacker in the studio.
Malen had the best chance of the game, De Boer knows. Face to face with Tomás Vaclik, the PSV striker failed, just before De Ligt got red. “I think he could have gotten two if Denzel Dumfries had played the ball a little more calmly to the side,” the national coach refers to a far too sharp pass from the right back during a dangerous breakout in the second half. I feel like we were the better ones. But against such a tough opponent you have to be top and we weren’t.”
De Boer did not think that the the Dutch squad was powerless throughout the game. “I think we were the dominant party. We crossed the backline a few times with Denzel in the first half, with Patrick van Aanholt… But the last pass was just not good. It seems clear to me that we wanted more chances. But they had one good chance, a header that went in front, and that was it, I felt like we were in control. In games like that against opponents like that, it’s about one or two moments. Donyell got one of those moments. And a few seconds later you are standing with ten men.”
In the beginning, the Dutch had a hard time with the Czech Republic, he admits. “I think we had some difficulties with how they were at the beginning. After five to seven minutes we picked that up and there was really nothing to worry about. Then we picked up the game, without creating many big chances. resulted.” After the red card, the 0-1 quickly fell and that goal turned out to be the death blow for the the Dutch. “You hope that they will become more frustrated, that they will take more risks. You should not fall behind, because then they can play their own game.”
“Of course you are depressed. You are very disappointed. Everyone had a completely different route in their head”, De Boer describes his feeling after the defeat. He wants to evaluate the tournament eventually. He does not know whether he will continue to work as national coach. “I don’t have to answer that yet. We’re going to think about that quietly. At the moment I’m with an incredible hangover, just like all the players and all the fans. It was great to see the fans back. We would have loved to give them something, but unfortunately that didn’t happen.”
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