The Dutch national team will close the 2020 calendar year with a victory over Poland in the Nations League. The 1-2 win is not enough for first place in the group stage, thus qualifying for the Final Four passes the nose of Frank de Boer and his team. The Dutch newspapers are unanimous on Thursday: the national coach can look back on the last international period with a good feeling, but there is still a lot of work to be done, especially in defensive terms.

The Netherlands fell behind in Chorzow early after Hans Hateboer lost the ball. The Telegraph is critical of De Boer with regard to his choice to draft Atalanta’s right back. “Although Poland’s 1-0 was preceded by a series of major mistakes, De Boer had to blame himself for them. It is to the credit of the 112-time international that he thinks along with the clubs and in Chorzow opted for four pairs of ‘fresh legs’ compared to the game with Bosnia and Herzegovina, but in the first place he really serves (the interests of) the KNVB . The choice of Hans Hateboer as right back was a miss ”, reporter Mike Verweij says in his report.

Hateboer is critically approached in the newspaper. The back was taken to the side by De Boer ten minutes after the break. “After 56 minutes, De Boer had to correct his error of judgment and still bring in Dumfries for Hateboer. The Atalanta player was indirectly to blame for the early deficit in the sixth minute ”, it sounds. “After a throw-in in the Polish half, no one knows why he stayed out of the field for too long and his direct opponent Kamil Jozwiak was able to escape. Klaassen was left by the Pole and Blind failed to force Jozwiak to the outside, allowing him to simply cut in and score from the inside of the post. Krul had no chance: 1-0. ”

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Thanks to goals from Memphis Depay and Georginio Wijnaldum, the three points went to the Netherlands. However, the victory is not enough for first place, as Italy won 0-2 on a visit to Bosnia & Herzegovina. “But the second victory in a row will give De Boer a good feeling for four months. The game in Poland provides sufficient tools to build on a team that can thrive at the European Championship. Perhaps the biggest win of the last international period was that a number of players explicitly presented themselves. Wijndal, Klaassen and the excellent Stengs in Poland give De Boer plenty of (luxury) choices. While the returning Matthijs de Ligt will be welcomed with open arms. That the duo Blind / De Vrij is not Van Dijk / De Ligt, became clear in Poland. ”

It Algemeen Dagblad notes that De Boer has broken ‘quite radically’ with the line of Ronald Koeman, the predecessor of the current national coach. “Competition has been thrown open in every line of the team and De Boer is placing different (sometimes surprising) accents,” Maarten Wijffels writes in his analysis. The reporter sees several changes since De Boer’s appointment. “He is the first coach at the Dutch team to openly say: if Jasper Cillessen does not hold a club, he will not be our tournament keeper. The keys to midfield belong to Davy Klaassen, a new caretaker who was never selected under Koeman. In the attack, De Boer moves with Memphis Depay and the striker position is open. As for the results: after a difficult start, De Boer is now starting to win. ”

The Netherlands drew 1-1 against Spain last week. Even then it got a goal in the first half and it came back strongly after the break. “Wondering if that is also possible against Belgium”, Wijffels wonders. “Speaking of that team: the Dutch looks like the Belgians, but the Red Devils who played their first final tournament in 2014 with the De Bruyne, Hazard, Mertens, Vertonghen, Kompany generation. A team that could win from any top country on good days, but also regularly got caught in the knife. Is the the Dutch already so far that one bad day does not immediately have to be fatal at a tournament? No. Just like the Belgians back then. ”

It NRC also discusses the early goal against the the Dutch squad. “It was nevertheless a miracle that he could get that far. After all, the the Dutch has fallen behind so often early that you expect some vigilance for what has now come to be called the ‘traditional early goal against’. The opposite turned out to be true ”, it sounds. “Fortunately for De Boer, this was no omen of what was to come. Because with an intact axis, the Dutch quickly became dangerous. They were fine, fast combinations, which should have led to three goals from Georginio Wijnaldum, Davy Klaassen and Stengs in a time frame of about five minutes. ” The reporter saw that Poland seemed stronger after the break, but the Dutch nevertheless took over the initiative. “The equalizer presented itself and fell ten minutes before time, when Memphis Depay scored from the spot. De Boer brought in more attackers and that had an effect. Seven minutes before the end, Wijnaldum headed in the winning, somewhat unexpected. ”

According to Faithful De Boer got ‘a true impression’ of his team against Poland. “In Poland, a mediocre first half was compensated with an acceptable appearance after the break (1-2),” the verdict is. “De Boer once again became aware of the limitations his team still has at the moment – shortcomings of which the question is whether they will be remedied in the coming summer, at the European Championship. The team is still too young, too inexperienced for that. In line with his predecessor Koeman, De Boer does what he has to do in such a situation: arm his team with the limited resources he has. In addition, he also has to and wants to take into account the overcrowded playing calendar. ”

The newspaper is critical of the rearguard and denounces the potential of some internationals. “Disturbing and one-dimensional are the intended backs Wijndal (20) and Dumfries (24), who still make mistakes in accordance with their age; mistakes that will sooner or later be punished at a European Championship. And who will soon be at the center of the defense to compensate for those mistakes? De Ligt and Van Dijk, both recovering from injuries, or an occasional duo with De Vrij and Blind? The pair did not leave a watertight impression against Poland either. ” According to the newspaper, the Netherlands has not won the Nations League group stage. the Dutch has to make do with second place. “And that is a correct reflection of where the Dutch is now. Top countries such as Spain, France, Portugal and Italy are still too strong for this Netherlands. ”