Louis van Gaal has announced his line-up for the game against Qatar. The national coach refers Steven Bergwijn to the bench and has appointed Memphis Depay as his replacement. Marten de Roon makes his first appearance in this tournament: he starts next to Frenkie de Jong. The last game for the the Dutch in the group stage will be kicked off at 4 p.m. Dutch time.
After a difficult 0-2 victory over Senegal, the Netherlands was very lucky with a 1-1 against Ecuador. The the Dutch hardly created any chances against the South Americans, and the game before that also proved that the successful formation has not yet been found by Van Gaal. That is why the choice king decides to move his pawns again. Especially the composition of the front five is subject to change. Gakpo and Depay form the striker duo, which was formed on Friday by Bergwijn and Gakpo. The two are supported in the back by Davy Klaassen.
The block in midfield is formed by Frenkie de Jong and De Roon. Van Gaal has not yet found the ideal puzzle piece for next to his star, as both Steven Berghuis and Koopmeiners have not yet managed to impress this tournament. De Roon now gets the chance to show himself. “What needs to be improved is the game on the ball, but it is also a bit of aggression. That pressure has to be done higher up the field,” Van Gaal said about the game against Ecuador last weekend. This observation is probably the basis for the choice for De Roon.
Van Gaal remains confident in his back six. That means that Andries Noppert can prepare for his third international match and that Daley Blind, Nathan Aké, Virgil van Dijk, Jurriën Timber and Denzel Dumfries (left to right) form the defense. All in all, Xavi Simons seems to have to settle for a substitute. Van Gaal hinted at playing time for the season revelation during the press conference on Monday. “I said to Xavi Simons that he could take the next step. I see that he is developing as a player, that he is trying to do what we want him to do,” said the national coach.
Lineup Netherlands: Noppert; Dumfries, Timber, Van Dijk (c), Ake, Blind; De Roon, F. De Jong; Klaassen; Memphis, Gakpo.
Lineup Qatar: Barsham, Ismail, Pedro, Khoukhi, Hassan, Homam, Al Haydos, Madibo, Hatem, Almuz, Afif.
???????? ???? for #NEDQAT! ?? Let’s make this happen, boys!#NothingLikeOrange #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/SHJpyEUr1y
— OurOrange (@OnOrange) November 29, 2022