Netherlands – Spain: Spain Stifled in Feyenoord (2-2)
Spain still are the side to beat in Europe. However, the first leg of a Nations League clash came close to demonstrating their mortality. Ronald Koeman cobbled together a prudent plan to catch the favorites on a poor day, putting the tie in the balance ahead of a trip to the Mestalla.
Tactical analysis and match report by Emmanuel Adeyemi-Abere.
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Spain stand atop of the European scene. They last lost against Colombia in March a year ago and have not looked back since their summer of success at EURO 2024. Croatia, Italy, Germany, France, and England were second best to La Roja on their way to the trophy, and the team topped their Nations League group with one game to spare. The tournament marked the start of the ascent for Luis de la Fuente, who won the previous edition of the competition. Could he go one step closer to more glory?
The Netherlands are navigating choppier waters with Ronald Koeman. He had led the country to the last four of the EUROs: that was their best performance in a major national competition in a decade. Yet, throughout their run to the semi-final, there were questions about the clarity of the direction from the dugout ahead of the 2026 World Cup. Two tests against the Germans (a 2-2 draw and 1-0 loss) left more doubts hanging over the tactical blueprint of the 61-year-old. How would he approach this task?
Jan Paul van Hecke made his second start for the Dutch with the wisdom of Virgil van Dijk by his side at the heart of the defense. Lutsharel Geertruida and Jorrel Hato comprised the rest of the back four. The manager fielded Jeremie Frimpong in a wide right role, and Cody Gakpo gained a starting spot on the left flank. Justin Kluivert came into the fold as an attacking midfielder ahead of Tijjani Reijnders and Frenkie de Jong. Wout Weghorst made way for Memphis Depay as the central forward.
De la Fuente fielded a fairly familiar lineup. Robin Le Normand stood next to Pau Cubarsí in central defense. Pedro Porro pitched in as a right back due to Dani Carvajal’s ACL injury and Marc Cucurella kept his spot on the left of the rearguard. Martín Zubimendi continued to fill in for Rodri; Fabián Ruiz and Pedri played with him in the middle of the park. The front three were the same trident that started most matches in the EUROs: Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams flanked the veteran Álvaro Morata.
Spain struggle to settle into a rhythm
De la Fuente has forged a Spanish side with a distinct identity to the past. There is still a strong focus on their talent in the middle of the park. However, with two wingers willing to go in 1 v 1 situations on the outside, they can also funnel passing circuits into two wide pairings that pose a special threat.
The Spaniards set out with a familiar framework. Fabián fell back more often next to Zubimendi, and Pedri played further ahead in the midfield as Morata could drop off the last line as a link through the middle of the pitch. Meanwhile, the fullbacks would try to create connections with the two wingers, pinching forward on the outside. But those links looked a lot less concrete than usual. Yamal had a particularly quiet evening, and most attacks relied on releasing Williams to dribble from the left.
13th minute: offensive sequence from Spain. Pedri had briefly brought the ball forward, releasing it to Pedro Porro in a freer position from Gakpo. He hammered a longline pass towards Yamal, who then flicked it onto Fabián, and the midfielder managed to create a connection inside with Porro, who had immediately darted away from Gakpo. Pedri and Zubimendi were simple options to add an extra step to the switch to the left, but Porro floated the ball out of play, wasting the transition toward Williams.
Yet, it was still the Spanish who claimed the advantage. Yamal hunted Hato, whose loose first touch never helped him to settle on the ball. He punched a pass to Pedri, who pivoted completely on the ball as his club teammate took off, pulling along van Dijk. His stance shifted several orange shirts even further from the left wing, where Williams was breaking into the box. He spun around with the ball, protected it from Lutsharel Geertruida, and had enough room to slot a strike beyond Bart Verbruggen.
A similar switch almost produced the second strike of the match. Man marking tied up orange shirts in the central lanes as Porro pinged an unpressured diagonal to Williams. The left winger was once more in acres of space, releasing Cucurella to cross to the far post. Morata had hung out of the action, arriving on the scene to climb over Hato, but his header went wide of the target. However, there was only one more effort from the visitors before the break as Koeman’s men responded effectively.
Koeman changes the offensive arrangement
In their last big test against Germany, a press completely constrained play on the ball. The midfielders stood on the same line, and they struggled to pick out a free man in possession. Here, they tampered with their layout. Reijnders was in the pivot but persistently pushed ahead of de Jong, and Geertruida occasionally rotated next to the sitting midfielder. As the Spanish midfielders moved up aggressively to engage the press, that split put them on different lines and allowed access directly to Memphis.
30th minute: offensive sequence from the Netherlands. Fabián pushed forward to put pressure on van Hecke, and his teammates rotated ahead of him. Here, Geertruida pinned Williams and Cucurella was reluctant to tightly track Frimpong between the lines. Other times, it was Geertruida ahead of van Hecke and Reijnders between the lines. The result was similar: access to a central orange shirt and the possibility of a switch to Gakpo that Frimpong chooses to release him in a dynamic situation.
Spain’s struggles with ball management worsened as half time drew closer. Meanwhile, their hosts had their way with the ball on the wings. The equalizer arrived through Frimpong’s attraction of Cucurella and Fabián to the right side of the field. The center opened up for Kluivert to connect with Gakpo and the winger lashed a shot into the net. He was the outlet for switches to the left side with Kluivert connecting in pockets and Reijnders willing to make third man runs ahead of the ball.
At the start of the second half, Frimpong flew forward decisively again. Cucurella closed him down on the right flank, but the winger looked for a classic combination with Reijnders, releasing him with a through ball on the outside to take the left back out of the equation. Cucurella and Fabián moved further away from the edge of the penalty area, where Reijnders remained ready to strike. Frimpong returned the favor to his teammate, who rolled an effort past Unai Simón to put the hosts into the lead.
Super sub strikes again
However, disaster struck as the clock ticked into the final ten minutes of the match. Hato held off Oyarzabal to drive away from pressure. He ran into Le Normand, flying off the floor into a duel. The central defender writhed on the ground, and the referee brandished a straight red card, so the Dutch were down to ten men. Koeman called on Matthijs de Ligt, placing him with van Dijk and van Hecke as a third central defender in a 5-3-1 formation while Gakpo replaced Depay as a central forward.
From the other dugout, de la Fuente ordered Fabián to make way for Mikel Merino. And in the end, the switch paid dividends. Minutes into injury time, Cucurella connected with Williams, leaving him to wander inside Frimpong from the flank. He had enough separation to shoot inside the box: van Hecke could not block the effort, and Verbruggen parried the ball. But it fell at the feet of Merino, who was quick to twist his feet and finish with his right boot. It would be all square at full time.
Takeaways
Koeman would be disappointed to throw away the lead in the dying embers of the clash. The second leg awaits on Spanish soil and the reigning champions would expect to advance in front of their home fans. But he could be content with the display for most of the ninety minutes. Against an outfit that have shifted strength to the wings, the Dutch delivered stern resistance. The red card changed the dynamics of the duel but if they can replicate their intent, they stand a chance of progression.
Spain stretched their unbeaten run to 22 competitive contests. The ability to avoid defeat is one of the qualities that characterizes top teams, and de la Fuente was satisfied to see his men escape level. Yet, there is no getting away from the hardships they faced for most of the match. The manager foresaw a tough test, but it was one of the meekest displays under his stewardship since he got his hands on his wingers. With a three-day turnaround until the second leg of this tie, he is likely to shuffle the pack.
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