The Dutch national team will come into action for the second time this European Championship on Thursday evening. After the 3-2 victory over Ukraine, the team of national coach Frank de Boer also wants to win the second group match. Austria will be the opponent in the Johan Cruijff ArenA at 9 p.m. With a win in Amsterdam, the the Dutch squad is assured of a place in the eighth finals and can secure the group victory four days later in the last group match with North Macedonia.
After a messy preparation, there was a chagrin around the Dutch national team. This was settled in the confrontation with Ukraine, although it was close to growing the chagrin. the Dutch gave up a 2-0 lead. Due to a striking header by Denzel Dumfries in the final phase, things still look rosy for De Boer’s selection. Opponent Austria also did not have a flawless first group match. The team of national coach Franco Foda started on paper against the easiest opponent: North Macedonia. For a moment it seemed that the Austrians would be blamed, when Goran Pandev took full advantage of the bumbling in the rear after half an hour of play. In the end, Austria made up after the break and Foda’s team won 3-1 thanks to goals from Michael Gregoritsch and Marko Arnautovic. The latter caused a stir with his curious reaction after his goal, which resulted in a suspension for the game against the Netherlands.
Arnautovic suspended
Arnautovic went crazy after his goal and is said to have insulted opponent Ezgjan Alioski, while he was also accused of being racist. UEFA announced an investigation and reported on Wednesday that the attacker has been suspended for the game with the the Dutch. Serbian and Croatian media reported the day after the much-discussed incident, which can clearly be seen on Arnautovic’s lips, that he shouted ‘Ich f***e deine Shiptar-Mutter’. Loosely translated: ‘I’ll fuck your Shiptar mother’. In Serbian, Shiptar is a derogatory racist term for Albanians. However, the players of North Macedonia have not yet confirmed this. Arnautovic was born and raised in Vienna, but his family is from Serbia, where many of his relatives still live. Arnautovic commented on Instagram: “There have been some heated words in the heat of the battle,” he wrote. “I want to offer my EXCUSES for that, especially to my friends from North Macedonia and Albania. I want to say one thing very clearly: I AM NOT A RACIST! I have friends in almost every country and I stand for diversity. Everyone who knows me knows Which.”
Arnautovic suspended against the Dutch: ‘An advantage for us’
Marko Arnautovic is not there against the the Dutch.
De Boer discussed the suspension of Arnautovic during a press conference on Wednesday: “I am sorry and it is a shame for Austria, because he is a very good player. We know him of course from his Twente period. It will be a loss for Austria. In that respect it is an advantage for us. He came in and immediately showed the difference. Sad for Austria.” De Boer believes that Austria made a good impression and did so against North Macedonia. “I’ve seen they can play different systems. They always play 4-3-3, but against opponents who play the same they will play with three in the back. It’s just a good team, lots of Red Bull players. Then you know: Volgassfussball.”
There was a lot to do about the 5-3-2 system of the the Dutch in the run-up to the European Championship. After the 3-2 victory over Ukraine, the mood in the country seems to have changed somewhat. “If we get a bad result against Austria, it’s a completely different atmosphere,” De Boer realizes. “We have to make sure we believe in what we’re doing. I have to pass that on to the players. I’m glad people are seeing it now. The news gets through to everyone and that may have an impact. It’s not nice for my wife, for example, to hear so much criticism. Let’s hope the mood stays good, because that means we get good results.”
Fit selection
The Dutch national team is fully fit against Austria. Matthijs de Ligt has fully recovered from his groin injury and will appear at the kick-off, De Boer already announced. Wout Weghorst had some problems with his ankle after the first group match, but he can also come into action. Frenkie de Jong suffered from cramps in the final phase against Ukraine. The midfielder took it easy a day later and has been training again in recent days. Daley Blind, who was substituted after more than an hour of play last Sunday, is also available. He was sidelined for months with an ankle injury and for him the European Championship was a race against time. De Boer did not want to take any risks with the Ajax player.
Probable setups
It is expected that De Boer will not change much about his position against Austria. The first group match gave him little reason to change. Maarten Stekelenburg will defend the goal and from the right Denzel Dumfries, match winner against Ukraine, will start again. It is obvious that Jurriën Timber will lose his base place to De Ligt, despite the fact that he can look back on three international matches in a row in which he held up well as a nineteen-year-old. De Boer has already confirmed that the Juventus defender will start. “De Ligt is fit and he will start against Austria,” said the trainer, who did not want to confirm that Timber will lose his starting place. “You’ll see tomorrow.”
Surprisingly, Patrick van Aanholt was preferred over Owen Wijndal on Sunday, who lost his starting spot. Van Aanholt is expected to start again against Austria in the 5-3-2 system. On Wednesday afternoon, De Boer discussed the competition between the two left backs. “I think Patrick is in better shape at the moment. I had a reason to switch that, although I can see Owen making progress again. It’s a healthy competition. With me, I don’t just let you down at the first moment. Only, it was now about a slightly longer period of which I thought: hey i need something else right now. He knows that and I told him that. He has to show that he is ready. Owen will feel free to make his minutes and he did that on Sunday. He has to make it difficult for me during matches and training,” said the national coach.
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The suspected position of the Dutch against Austria
Since everyone is fit and there seems to be no reason to change, the national coach is not expected to make any further changes. That also means that Weghorst will again take place in the attack alongside Memphis Depay. The VfL Wolfsburg striker keeps Luuk de Jong on the bench. De Boer elaborated on that choice on Wednesday: “It is very simple: in the beginning I did not want to change too much in the selection”, he referred to the period immediately after his appointment at the KNVB. “I was just there and the feeling was good with the selection, then you move on to the people who made sure that we qualified. Now I can bring more people and then you also have the chance to give him that space. It is also almost impossible to work him in in a short period of time, so I opted for Luuk de.”
De Jong didn’t get to play much at Sevilla last season and that broke him up towards the European Championship. “I told Luuk that I’m going for Wout, because I think he showed it. Luuk hasn’t played much in recent months and I told him that to be honest. Luke also deserved it in my eyes. If you score so much in Bundesliga, even against good opponents… He has not disappointed me, so that’s why the choice for Wout,” said the national coach.
Probable position in the Netherlands: Stekelenburg; Dumfries, De Ligt, De Vrij, Blind, Van Aanholt; De Roon, Wijnaldum, F. De Jong; Weghorst, Depay
Probable arrangement Austria: Bachmann, Dragovic, Hinteregger, Friedl, Alaba, Schlager, Ulmer, Lainer, Sabitzer, Baumgartner, Kalajdzic.
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