The Netherlands team beat Georgia 3-0 with goals from Memphis Depay, Wout Weghorst and Ryan Gravenberch and, despite incurring some deficiencies in defense, they showed a much more offensive image than four days ago, when they drew against a Scotland plagued by casualties.
The ‘Clockwork Orange’ needed a victory. Especially the coach Frank de Boer, harshly criticized in the Netherlands for the 5-3-2 system chosen for the friendly preparation for the Euro.
In the first half you had doubts and Georgia, which is not classified for the continental tournament, was on the verge of scoring. In the second, the domain of the premises was total. The best was Memphis Depay, through whose boots they passed almost every important occasion, scored a penalty and gave two assists. This is what in the Netherlands is becoming known as “Depaydencia”.
However, defense concerns. Virgil van Dijk’s safe withdrawal from the Eurocup due to injury was joined this Sunday by Matthijs de Ligt, who withdrew from training early on Saturday due to groin problems and was ruled out as a precaution. Daley Blind played in his place in the first half and Nathan Aké in the second.
Georgia went home without a prize, although it created enough opportunities to come with a pair of goals to its favor at halftime.
The Dutch midfielder Marten de Roon made unforgivable losses and the home defense was generally slow, especially in the first half, leaving spaces that a more powerful team would not have missed.
De Boer opted again for the same 5-3-2 as against Scotland and put veteran Ajax goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg into goal, the same one who defended the goal in the 2010 World Cup final in South Africa that the Netherlands lost to Spain.
With Valencia goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen out of the Dutch squad due to COVID-19 contagion, the position of goalkeeper during the Euro Cup will be decided between Stekelenburg and Norwich City goalkeeper Tim Krul.
Frenkie de Jong was back in the starting eleven as a defensive midfielder and, like the rest of the team, he played better in the second half than in the first, when he lacked a top speed.
The contradiction is that ‘A Clockwork Orange’ did the first 15 electric minutes, with one occasion after another.
In the 9th minute, Depay passed the ball to Denzel Dumfries, who made a quick run into the box and defender Lasha Dvali pushed it. The referee whistled the maximum penalty and the Olympique de Lyon forward did not forgive from eleven meters with a low shot from the right that misled the goalkeeper.
After that quarter of an hour, Georgia matched the pace of the match and enjoyed three good chances. The clearest one came from an action by Kiteishvili, who entered the left wing and made the death pass towards Gvilia. The midfielder, alone next to the penalty spot, finished horribly badly.
The Netherlands’ second goal came in the 55th minute, in a beautiful triangulation between Frenkie de Jong, Depay and Weghorst that culminated in the latter with a shot without stopping the ball. It was the VfL Wolfsburg forward’s first goal for the Netherlands team, earning him positions for a place in the starting XI at the European Championship to the detriment of Sevilla forward Luuk de Jong.
From there, the dominance of the Dutch was absolute, with Depay repeatedly trying to score his second goal. A whip of his was rejected by the goalkeeper with his feet and Ryan Gravenberch, the last pearl of Ajax, finished off the header, making it 3-0 and debuting as a scorer with the orange shirt.
On the edge of the end, the Georgia Jigauri player slammed a surface-to-air missile into the crossbar that nearly surprised Stekelenburg. The victory allows the Netherlands to reach the European Championship with good feelings, although with the need to correct deficiencies in defense.
– Data sheet:
3. Netherlands: Stekelenburg; Wijndal (m.73: Van Aanholt), Blind (m.46: Aké), De Vrij, Timber (m.77: Berghuis), Dumfries; Frenkie de Jong (m.66: Gravenberch), Wijnaldum (m.66: Klaassen), De Roon; Depay, Weghorst (m.66: Malen).
0. Georgia: Loria; Giorbelidze, Khocholava, Kashia, Dvali, Kakabadze; Kiteishvili (m.88: Kukhianidze), Aburjania (m.78: Daushvili), Gvilia, (m.78: Kvekveskiri) Lobzhanidze (m.46: Davitashvili); Zivzivadze (m.65: Mikautadze).
Goals: 1-0, m.10: Depay, from a penalty. 2-0, m.55: Weghorst. 3-0, m.76: Gravenberch.
Referee: Erik Lambrechts (BEL). He showed a yellow card to Georgia Kakabadze and Kashia players.
Incidents: Preparatory friendly match for the Eurocup played at the De Grolsh Veste stadium in Enschede, the Netherlands, in front of some 7,500 spectators, a limited capacity due to covid-19 restrictions. EFE (HN)