Rafael van der Vaart thinks it is good if national coach Frank de Boer makes a number of changes in the last group match against North Macedonia, as the the Dutch has already qualified as group winner for the next round of the European Championship. The former international emphasizes that the national coach would do well not to change almost the entire team, as Marco van Basten did in 2008. Where Van der Vaart thinks of rest for Frenkie de Jong, Matthijs de Ligt and Daley Blind, is Kees Kwakman believes that De Boer should make more substitutions and should opt for a 4-3-3 formation in the last group match.
In the group stage of 2008, the Netherlands impressively won the first two group matches against Italy (3-0) and France (4-1). Because the the Dutch squad had already been seeded, Van Basten opted for nine new players in the last group match against Romania (2-0 win). Only Orlando Engelaar and Khalid Boulahrouz kept their base places. In the quarterfinals that followed against Russia, the the Dutch squad lost 1-3. Van der Vaart was one of the players who got rest against Romania. “Then I was happy with it”, said Van der Vaart on Thursday at the NOS. “With what I know now, I definitely wouldn’t do it.”
Van der Vaart would only make a few changes if he were in De Boer’s shoes. “Malen has to play,” said the former football player, who mentioned players who, in his eyes, could use a good rest: “De Ligt didn’t look quite top yet. Frenkie (De Jong, ed.) had a bit of trouble. Those kinds of substitutions are possible, but not a whole team. Marco then really changed everyone, even the keeper. I would not do that. We had really done nothing for a week. That wasn’t really the reason we lost after that, but it suddenly felt different. You do get a bit out of your rhythm. As a fit player you just have to be able to play twice in four or five days.”
Van Basten got in the studio of the NOS the question of how he would go about it. “I would also see to what extent players would benefit from some rest. It is ultimately about the fourth game and not about the third game. So I would as much as possible set all arrows on the fourth game”, says Van Basten. Matthijs de Ligt indicated after the win over Austria that he would like to play against North Macedonia. “I personally notice that the more I play, the better I feel. I’m a player who needs a lot of explosive twists and turns. I would prefer to play. Ultimately, the national coach is the one who decides,” said De Ligt.
De Boer said that he will think about possible substitutions in the coming days. He may be keeping Daley Blind aside. The left leg has just recovered from a serious ankle injury and was replaced after an hour against Austria on Thursday, just like against Ukraine. Visibly upset, he went to the side. “It looked like it was a planned substitution. I didn’t know beforehand,” said Blind afterwards. “I had taken it into account. Of course I understand. When I look at myself, I just want to play.” Georginio Wijnaldum also indicated that he would like to play. “I have the feeling that I want to play football,” said the midfielder. “I would prefer to play all the games, but we are not really working on it yet.”
The man of the match was not Denzel Dumfries or Frenkie de Jong
The report figures of Voetbalzone of the players of the Dutch.
“He rightly said that he must first consult with the players,” Kwakman said on Thursday evening football talk. “Which players came out unscathed? The medical staff, of course, has all the data. But your first thoughts go to Frenkie de Jong, Matthijs de Ligt, Blind. Perhaps Dumfries too, he puts so much energy into his playing. But then you end up with five or six strongholds that you then take out. On the other hand: you play against North Macedonia,” said the former football player at the program of ESPN.
Kwakman also thinks that De Boer would do well to switch from the 5-3-2 system to 4-3-3 against North Macedonia. “Gakpo on the left, Berghuis on the right. Gravenberch on it, of course. Some new guys in there. Maybe with Krul a different keeper,” Kwakman continued. “I also don’t believe that the system will come together any better against North Macedonia.” The game against North Macedonia is scheduled for next Monday (6 p.m.).
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