Louis van Gaal is very satisfied with the game that the Dutch national team has put on the mat. The the Dutch squad won 0-2 against Poland in the fifth round of the Nations League campaign, so that the Netherlands is even assured of a place in the Final Four in the event of a small defeat against Belgium. The national coach meets with the NOS with an update on the physical state of multiple players.
Van Gaal speaks back on the victory of an almost perfect evening. “I tried to indicate beforehand where we should develop. That is during the possession of the opponent. We put pressure on the ball for ninety minutes. We have given very little away, while there is still a fantastic striker playing. Later, a second striker was added, Milik, who also plays at the highest level. We only suffered too much loss of the ball in simple situations, which gave them two chances. But actually we created those chances ourselves, because we lost the ball too easily.”
the Dutch on report: Berghuis excels, the weakest man does not get the final signal
Steven Berghuis gets the highest score at the the Dutch squad, which is once unsatisfactory.
“I think we also lost more ball loss due to the injury at Berghuis,” continues Van Gaal. “He suffered more loss of the ball than usual, because he was suffering from his lower back. Still, I didn’t want to change him too quickly, because otherwise I would have used up all the changes and you never know what happens in the final phase.” Even before the end of the first minute of play, Teun Koopmeiners dropped out with a head injury. Van Gaal has heard positive signals from the midfielder. “Of course there is still a scan to be made, but I understand that he was already feeling a bit better.”
“We did not take any risks with both Koopmeiners and Frenkie de Jong. We also exchanged Frenkie at half time. In addition to Koopmeiners, De Jong and Berghuis, Memphis also struggled with complaints. The latter was forced to be replaced a few minutes after the break. “It’s a shame that Memphis got out with his injury. That doesn’t bode well. I don’t think Memphis will play on Sunday. I don’t think Berghuis will play either, because a back injury usually lasts a little longer than just a few days,” concludes Van Gaal.