The Dutch national team will play in a 5-3-2 formation against Georgia on Sunday, national coach Frank de Boer confirms at the press conference on Saturday afternoon. The national coach is therefore sticking to the formation in which the the Dutch squad took office against Georgia on Wednesday. According to De Boer, it is ‘quite possible’ that in the first group match of the European Championship, next Sunday against Ukraine, they will also play in 5-3-2.
“We will start tomorrow with 5-3-2 in any case. I am convinced that we need that”, says De Boer. Or that also the formation against Ukraine? “That may very well be possible. I don’t have to say everything openly, but the chance is high. Nothing is final.” According to De Boer, there is a ‘very nice learning process’ in the run-up to the European Championship. He says he uses the preparation for the European Championship to learn as much as possible and indicates that the selection agrees with the choice for 5-3-2, although Matthijs de Ligt and Memphis Depay had their reservations after the midweek game with Scotland.
“We just spoke well and I have said so many times: if I think we should play 4-3-3, then we will certainly do that. We also have the players for that. Steven Berghuis and Quincy Promes are there good at it, just like Cody Gakpo and Donyell Malen. I have every confidence in it,” said De Boer, who sits next to Frenkie de Jong during the press conference. The midfielder does not think the name of the formation is very relevant. “Look, it can be called 5-3-2 or 4-3-3, but one 5-3-2 is also very different from the other 5-3-2. You can fill it in differently per game. The name of the system doesn’t matter much, it’s about how you fill it in and where the spaces are with the opponent.”
“We have to switch back to this system,” Depay said after the game against Scotland. “We are back together for the first time and I have never played with Wout Weghorst. So that all takes some time. If we do it right, you will see that space is created. We play to practice and then is this a system we can use in the future. We need to have multiple options.” De Ligt was even more critical of the formation. “Whether the experiment has failed and we are more menacing in 4-3-3? I think that is a fair idea,” said the defender.
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