DBasia.news – The Dutch national team successfully secured a ticket to the knockout phase of the 2020 European Cup with two consecutive wins. Der Oranje won 3-2 over Ukraine and then 2-0 against Austria.
Even though they have managed to qualify for the knockout stages, the tactics applied by Frank de Boer in the Netherlands are still questionable. The reason is that De Boer is out of the ‘comfort zone’ of the 4-3-3 formation that is ingrained in the Netherlands and is famous for its total football game.
“Five (players) at the back. It’s not something the Dutch know how to play,” Dutch football legend Ruud Gullit told beIN SPORTS.
“Most players never play him. But he (Frank de Boer) has reasons because he doesn’t trust his defence, even with De Ligt and Van Dijk we’re always 1-0 down. It’s almost like you’re throwing away a legacy.”
Gullit’s observation of De Boer’s system is a reasonable assessment, because he is now a football pundit, but questions about the game were not only asked by him but also from Georginio Wijnaldum.
Netherlands national team captain
Senior player and captain of the Dutch national team Gini Wijnaldum has long doubted De Boer’s tactics. He said this before the 2020 European Cup.
“We didn’t have a good build-up for the tournament. The ‘hit’ we got was something that caused discussion within the squad,” said Wijnaldum.
“We speak to all players and coaches about criticism. Fans and media are allowed to be sharp and critical. We have to deal with it because of the way we played against Scotland.”
“I like the real Dutch 4-3-3 system. That’s where my heart is, with myself in an attacking role behind the front three. That’s how we played under Ronald Koeman and that was also a period where we were very successful again.”
“We reached the final of the Nations League, we beat teams like France and Germany.”
De Boer applies 3-4-1-2 tactics instead of 4-3-3. The application took the Netherlands through to the knockout stages, but with a record of conceding two goals against Ukraine.