After two convincing practice victories, the Dutch national team seems ready for the European Championship. Yet the 4-0 win against Iceland was overshadowed by a major loss: De Jong will not go to the final tournament. Football zone shines a light on the Dutch team's statistics with and without Frenkie de Jong, who has withdrawn due to an injury.

The mercury in the the Dutch fever thermometer briefly registered an enthusiastically high figure on Monday evening. The Dutch national team has just recorded a resounding practice victory for the second time in five days. After the 'reserves' sent Canada home 4-0 in a sparkling second half on Thursday, the A team delivered an equally convincing victory against a slightly tougher opponent: Iceland, the team that defeated European Championship top favorite England a few days earlier (0- 1).

But the the Dutch shirts, scarf and, well, sweatbands had not yet been removed from the closet, and some people's courage sank again. Frenkie de Jong will not go to the European Championships in Germany, the KNVB communicated almost immediately after the final whistle. Euphoria suddenly makes way for Dutch pessimism. The the Dutch fever has subsided again.

De Jong sees the earth collapsing around him. In an emotional message on Instagram, the controller shares his sadness. His teammates support him. Afterwards there was limited happiness with the selection.

After all, the team seems to have had to undergo a crash course in consolation. In addition to De Jong, Teun Koopmeiners also deserves an arm around the shoulder. The Atalanta midfielder, who joined later, grabbed his groin during the warm-up. According to national coach Ronald Koeman, it also 'didn't look good' for Koopmeiners.

And so the Dutch team seems to have to prepare for a final tournament without its 'best midfielder', such as Joey Veerman De Jong at ESPN typified. And Koeman will probably not be able to rely on the Koopmeiners who are in top form.

The figures of the Dutch team without De Jong offer little solace. The Dutch team records a lower winning percentage without Frenkie (61.5%) than with the playmaker (60.7%).

Moreover, the Dutch national team without De Jong does not produce encouraging figures against the top 10 countries in the FIFA world rankings. Without De Jong, only 20 percent of the matches are converted into victories, with Frenkie that is 33 percent.

De Jong will make his debut in the Dutch national team in September 2018. After his debut international match against Peru (2-1 win), in which he came into the team after the break and immediately turned the game around with an assist, the Dutch national team played 66 more matches.

De Jong misses 11 of the 67 international matches due to various injuries. In the other 56 matches, the balance keeper comes into action 54 times. De Jong's debut against Peru and the Nations League match with Wales (1-2 win in injury time) are the two matches where he starts on the bench, but does come in.

Of his 54 matches in an the Dutch shirt, Frenkie wins 34, the Dutch team draws 11 matches and the national team loses 9 times. That equates to a win rate of 60.7%. In only 16.7% of the cases does the Dutch team lose with De Jong within the lines.

the Dutch with Frenkie de Jong.

In the 13 international matches without De Jong (since his debut), the Netherlands has recorded 8 victories, the match ended in a draw once and 4 matches were lost. That gives a win rate of 61.5% and a loss rate of 30.8%.

The Dutch team without Frenkie de Jong.

De Jong and the Netherlands against top countries

Moreover, the statistics are not very rosy if you only look at the figures of the Dutch team against top countries. According to the current FIFA world rankings, in addition to the Netherlands (number 7), Argentina, France, Belgium, England, Brazil, Portugal, Spain, Italy and Croatia also belong to that list.

Since De Jong's debut with the national team, the Dutch national team has played exactly twenty times against a top ten team. The born Gorinchemer plays in fifteen of those twenty matches. The Netherlands wins five times.

In 2018, Group A of the Nations League will be played against Germany (3-0) and France (2-1). In the following year, the team wins after extra time against England (1-3) in the semi-finals of the Nations League and beats Germany again (2-4), this time in the European Championship 2020 qualification.

The Netherlands' last top 10 victory with De Jong dates back to June 2022, when Belgium was defeated 1-4 in Group A of the Nations League. Of the other ten matches against top countries, seven are lost and three are drawn. Friendly matches against Spain (1-1) and Germany (1-1) resulted in draws, as did the Nations League group match with Italy: 1-1.

At the last World Cup, the only meeting with a top country, the Netherlands, was immediately fatal. Argentina won a hot-tempered quarter-final on penalties. In the Final Four they then lost successively to Croatia (2-4 after extra time) and Italy (2-3). Earlier in De Jong's international career, France (2-1), Germany (3-2), Portugal (1-0) and Italy (0-1) also handed the Dutchman(s) defeats.

The drawn up balance sheet shows a winning percentage of 33.3% after 15 top matches with De Jong. The Dutch team lost in 46.7% of the top matches, which also lost the last five meetings with a top ten country.

The Netherlands without De Jong in top matches

In the five top matches of the Dutch national team without De Jong in the starting line-up, the statistics are even worse. Then the team will only win once, in a Nations League meeting with Belgium in September 2022. That victory is the last victory for the Dutch team against a top country.

The other four top matches resulted in three losses: two in the recent European Championship qualification against France (4-0 and 1-2), and the most recent practice defeat against Germany also ended without a result for the Netherlands (2-1). A friendly match with Belgium in 2018 resulted in a draw: 1-1.

This means that the Dutch team only wins twenty percent of the matches against top countries without De Jong. Sixty percent of international matches, on the other hand, end in a minor key without the important strength.

The Dutch team against top ten countries with and without Frenkie de Jong.

Koopmeiners in the Dutch

Without De Jong and Koopmeiners, Koeman seems to be opting for a three-man midfield this European Championship with Tijjani Reijnders and PSV players Veerman and Jerdy Schouten. Schouten initially seemed to have to settle for a reserve role against Iceland, but settled down between Veerman and Reijnders after Koopmeiners dropped out.

The former Bologna footballer also made a stable impression in the farewell match against Iceland. Yet despite the excellent performance of Veerman in particular, but also Schouten, there is an oppressive feeling afterwards among some Dutch fans. Is that midfield strong enough when the European Championship matches with top countries await?

Koopmeiners is having a strong season, but does not always seem to be able to find his place in the national team. He only appeared at the kick-off nine times, and once, against Poland (2-0 win), he had to leave the field after eight minutes.

His (basic) debut match against Mexico was lost, after which the Netherlands with Koopmeiners in the starting line-up (and on the field for 45 minutes or more) won 4 times, drew 2 times and lost 2 times. He was accurate twice and indicated just as often.

In his two meetings with top countries, Koopmeiners did not win as a basic customer. In a friendly match against Germany, they drew 1-1 and the Nations League match with Croatia was also lost. Substitute Koopmeiners played for a long time against Argentina and was also important with an assist, but he did not win.

The European Championship will probably also be canceled for the Koopmeiners, who are plagued by groin complaints. After winning the Europa League final with Atalanta, this is the sourest possible end to a bittersweet season for him. Together with De Jong, the midfielder will most likely encourage the Dutch team from the sidelines. Hopefully the two unlucky ones will bring the necessary luck. Go Holland go.

More news

More sports news