Saturday, October 2, 2021 at 07:02• Yanick Vos • Last update: 07:04

Aad de Mos thinks it is logical that Noa Lang is included in the final selection of the Dutch national team. On Friday afternoon it was announced that the Club Brugge winger is in the the Dutch selection for the first time. National coach Louis van Gaal rewards the attacker for his excellent performance in Belgium. He can now dream of a debut in the coming international period, in which the Netherlands will compete against Latvia and Gibraltar in the World Cup qualifiers (8 and 11 October).

With 28-year-old goalkeeper Mark Freken (SC Freiburg) and Lang, Van Gaal has opted for two new faces in the selection. According to De Mos, this is completely logical in view of the the Dutch program. “Because these are two ideal competitions to ‘experiment’”, said the analyst in conversation with The Telegraph. “Experiment between quotes then”, emphasizes the ex-trainer of PSV and KV Mechelen, among others. “Because at this stage of World Cup qualifiers, Louis van Gaal will not like to hear that word. But Van Gaal said he was thin in the wingers and Noa is a real one in that regard.”

According to De Mos, Lang will have to deal with a different range of tasks at the Dutch than he is used to at Club Brugge. “Noa will have to realize that the Dutch national team has many more creative players than him alone. And so he will have to be very aware of his defensive duties. At Club Brugge, the defensive work is taken care of by a block that Noa does not have behind him in the Dutch,” said De Mos about the ex-Ajacied, who scored 21 goals and 15 assists at Club Brugge in 49 games.

“He really feels like a fish in water there, forms the link between the two other men in shape – Hans Vanaken and Charles De Ketelaere – and is much more mature than in his Ajax days,” De Mos says. According to De Mos, his teammate Ruud Vormer also deserves the compliments for Lang’s development. “As a veteran, he has taken Noa by the hand on the field and outside the lines.”

Lang reached a high level last season and has started well this season as well. He knows how to impress in both the Belgian league and the Champions League. In the match against Paris Saint-Germain (1-1), he was named Man or too Match. “He really made a crushing impression against Paris, he was the man of the match for me and Club Brugge really could and should have won that game. That Leipzig was defeated in Germany (1-2, ed.), says a lot about the strength of Club Brugge and Noa Lang.”