Louis van Gaal has announced the line-up of the Dutch national team for the Nations League match with Poland. The national coach starts with his potential World Cup formation. The the Dutch squad surprisingly appears with Remko Pasveer on target, while Nathan Aké, Cody Gakpo and Teun Koopmeiners can also count on a basic place. The duel in Warsaw starts at 8.45 pm and is led by the Spanish referee Alejandro Hernández.
If the the Dutch win against Poland and Belgium lose points against Wales at the same time, the Dutch national team qualifies as group winner for the Final Fourtournament of the Nations League. If the Red Devils Also win, the the Dutch can lose by two goals difference from Belgium on Sunday. On Monday, Van Gaal already indicated that he will play in one of the upcoming two international matches with a similar formation to the World Cup in Qatar. “I think you’re probably going to see the players that I think are going to play in the World Cup. There are also a number of players who still have to earn their place, but also players who have always delivered to the Dutch will have to deliver to their club.”
??????? ???? for #POLNED! ?? Enjoy your debut, Remko! ??#NationsLeague pic.twitter.com/mo5xQ6bKKS
— OurOrange (@OnsOrange) September 22, 2022
Van Gaal wants to further perfect the 5-3-2 system against Poland. That happens surprisingly enough with Pasveer on target. It is his first minutes in the Dutch for the Ajax goalkeeper. The heart of the defense is formed by Jurriën Timber, Virgil van Dijk and Aké, while Denzel Dumfries and Daley Blind act as backs. Matthijs de Ligt and Stefan de Vrij are not always assured of a base place at Bayern Munich and Internazionale respectively and therefore have to make do with a place on the bench. Blind keeps Tyrell Malacia on the bench as left back.
Against the odds, Van Gaal opted for Davy Klaassen in recent international matches. However, the midfielder only started twice this season at Ajax under Alfred Schreuder, so that Cody Gakpo will be preferred on the number 10 position on Thursday evening. Frenkie de Jong has always been assured of a place in the base under the 71-year-old national coach. Teun Koopmeiners, who is in good shape, forms the defensive block of the Dutch against Poland, together with the Barcelona midfielder.
In the run-up to the duel with Poland, Van Gaal again announced that form is an important point to be selected for the World Cup. The national coach seemed to be talking emphatically about Memphis Depay. The 28-year-old attacker from Barcelona has only played 131 minutes for his club this season. Yet Depay seems a certainty for Van Gaal. “Every player has to deliver. There are players who do have a guarantee, because they have always delivered. You can fill in those names yourself, I will not mention them. It’s not good to make it public yet.” On Thursday evening, Depay, together with Steven Bergwijn, forms the attacking couple of the Dutch.
In Poland, a basic place has been made available for Sebastian Szymanski. The Feyenoord midfielder plays in the back of star player Robert Lewandowski. The latter had to miss the first game with the the Dutch (2-2) in De Kuip, but is there this time. Both Van Gaal and Frenkie de Jong praised the goal machine during the press conference on Wednesday. “It’s nice for us that a world player like Lewandowski is competing against us, then we can see where we stand,” said the national coach, who called the Polish attacker “the best striker in the world”.
Poland line-up: Szczesny; Bednarek, Glik, Kiwior; Frankowski, Krychowiak, Linetty, Zalewski; Szymanski, Lewandowski, Zielinskiz
Netherlands setup: feather; Dumfries, Timber, Van Dijk, Ake, Blind; Koopmeiners, Gakpo, De Jong; Bergwijn, Depay