The 2-1: just behind the line.© EPA
ANP
Tuesday, March 26, 2024 at 10:44 PM
Frankfurt
The Dutch national team lost a draw in the final phase of the friendly match against Germany. The good goalkeeping Bart Verbruggen was beaten by Niclas Füllkrug after a series of good reflexes, who rewarded the home team for the better game in Frankfurt (2-1).
Ronald Koeman was able to see his players at work one last time in Germany. The Dutch team is practicing against Canada and Iceland just before the European Championship. But the national coach has already had to hand in his selection for the European final round to UEFA.
Koeman will have to do a lot of deliberation in the coming months. His selection included 22 international players in Germany. The Dutch team missed the injured Frenkie de Jong, Quilindschy Hartman, Stefan de Vrij, Justin Bijlow, Teun Koopmeiners, Brian Brobbey, Micky van de Ven, Steven Berghuis, Noa Lang, Jurriën Timber and Joshua Zirkzee. Steven Bergwijn, who has recently recovered, will also hope for a place in the 23-man European Championship selection.
Verbruggen capitulates at 1-1.© AFP
The Dutch team kicked off with seven different players than on Friday against the Scots (4-0). Mark Flokken, Jeremie Frimpong, Lutsharel Geertruida, Mats Wieffer, Xavi Simons, Georginio Wijnaldum and Cody Gakpo had to make way for Bart Verbruggen, Denzel Dumfries, Matthijs de Ligt, Daley Blind, Jerdy Schouten, Joey Veerman and Donyell Malen.
Koeman also had his team switch systems. The Dutch team, playing with five instead of four defenders, did not win the beauty prize in the Deutsche Bank Park, especially in the first half. The visitors tapped the ball indecisively wide at the back for a long time and had difficulty getting the attackers into position.
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The Netherlands took the lead in the fourth minute. Veerman scored on a pass from Memphis Depay, who took advantage of a mistake by Maximilian Mittelstädt. Germany’s left back took revenge in the eleventh minute with a beautiful equalizer.
© ANP
Three days after a striking win against France (0-2), Germany combined much easier than the Netherlands, especially before half time. But only Ilkay Gündogan had a chance to express the field dominance with a goal before half time. The midfielder stranded on goalkeeper Verbruggen.
A little later, Malen arrived just too late to score on a pass from De Ligt. In a second half with twelve substitutions, the best chances were initially for the Dutch team. But Tijjani Reijnders and Depay missed out on a promising position. Verbruggen prevented Jamal Musiala and Thomas Müller from scoring in the final phase with clever reflexes, but was still beaten by Füllkrug.
Koeman is disappointed with goals conceded after corner kicks
National coach Ronald Koeman was quite satisfied after the lost practice match. “I have a better feeling about this match than about our win against Scotland on Friday. Only we scored four times and won 4-0. Football remains a crazy game.”
Niclas Füllkrug scored the winning goal for the home team in the 85th minute. No one in the stadium saw that the ball had crossed the line. But Norwegian referee Espen Eskas got a signal on his watch. “That’s how goal-line technology works,” said Koeman. “There’s a chip in the ball, so I just have to believe it. But before that goal, Rüdiger also committed a foul on Weghorst. He should have blown the whistle for that.”
Koeman acknowledged that Germany were the better team throughout the match. “But I think we played them well,” he said. “We played our best game in the opening phase of the second half and could have avoided the score 2-1. It became more difficult for us in the final phase, after all those substitutions.”
The national coach saw Bart Verbruggen playing a good game. Midfielders Joey Veerman and Jerdy Schouten also scored a pass in his opinion. “I am disappointed that both goals were conceded after a standard situation. At first we are not in a good position after a corner kick. Then we simply react too late. With so many people behind the ball, that goal should not be scored. The second goal also comes after a corner kick. That shouldn’t happen like that. We have to learn from that.”