On Wednesday evening, the Dutch national team suffered a surprising defeat in their farewell match against Algeria: 0-1. Jorrel Hato was heavily criticized for his responsibility for the only goal of the match, but according to Theo Janssen, Quinten Timber is not to be outdone either.
Anis Hadj Moussa sealed the fate of the match just before the end, making a characteristic move towards the inside before placing the ball with his left foot in the opposite corner. According to Janssen, Hato could have done better.
“But other players didn’t shine either. Timber was not successful, he should have closed the line to prevent the opponent from infiltrating so easily. We know that this player is left-handed and that he likes to cut inside to finish in the opposite corner, so we have to force him to pass to the side. HAS”
“Let him center then! We have enough people in the area, but he doesn’t do it and he highlights Hadj Moussa. In fact, he repeats this movement every week, as we saw in the Netherlands, at Feyenoord. We must therefore defend better against this type of action, it is essential. HAS”
The Netherlands thus lost their farewell match before the World Cup. “We can accept this match. I think they made twelve substitutions, almost everyone played. It’s already exceptional, in a match like this,” continues Janssen.
“But it’s not a good feeling. We want to say goodbye in style. We want to give the Dutch people a great match, and that’s not what we did. So, everyone is now leaving for the World Cup with this feeling: it’s not going to happen like that? HAS”
The Dutch will begin their World Cup on Sunday against Japan, but they will first make one last friendly outing on Monday in New York against Uzbekistan.
