Both sides took a lot away from Portugal’s win over Switzerland. The Netherlands attempted to mirror certain aspects of their setup, whilst Fernando Santos adapted his side’s defensive setup to the exposure in midfield. Many other factors played into Portugal’s growing control, including their coach’s inventive defensive shape, which allowed for constantly successful attacking transitions. […]
This Nations League semi-final proved to be a bad advert for playing out from the back, as center-back errors from both sides defined the scoreline. However, while Matthijs de Ligt’s error looked pretty much as a one off within an overall successful buildup by Netherlands, John Stones’ errors were representative of England’s problems throughout the […]
Germany obliterated the Netherlands in the first half as their two-and-a-half attackers were a constant menace for the Dutch defense. After a change of system, the Netherlands clawed their way back into the match, and the game was level after sixty minutes. Even though this is a new era for Die Mannschaft, one of their […]
More often than we fans would like to admit, the result of a game of football has very little to do with which team actually played better. This Nations League match between Germany and the Netherlands was a prime example of that. The Dutch left Gelsenkirchen with a fully undeserved, but nonetheless crucial point against […]
World Cup winners France showed passiveness on and off the ball, which was thoroughly exploited by the Dutch team. Trailing, France’s strategy looked especially ineffective and incoherent. In a remarkable change of events, the Dutch team is now slaying big teams one at a time, making this truly feel like a new dawn for Dutch […]
Germany were the better team for large spells in this match. The fact they conceded from a set piece and again failed to convert their chances meant the Netherlands got a relatively easy 3-0 win. Why Joachim Löw will have to go back to the drawing board once more. Germany and the Netherlands are both […]