Yahoo Sports EURO 2024 | France opponent analysis: the Netherlands
France face the Netherlands in Leipzig on Friday as both nations look to extend their winning start in their respective Euro 2024 campaigns. From the country’s prospects in the tournament, the manager, the most famous culinary delight and in-depth profiles of the whole squad, here is everything you need to know about Ralf Rangnick’s side. This piece was written by Wilber Hack, Kasper Hermans and Marcel van der Kraan for De Telegraaf as part of GFFN’s partnership with The Guardian’s sports network.
Prospects
The Netherlands arrive at the Euros with some major concerns. The coach, Ronald Koeman, has three key uncertainties to deal with. They are all injury-related and concern Feyenoord’s Justin Bijlow in goal, Barcelona’s Frenkie de Jong in midfield and Atlético Madrid’s Memphis Depay up front.
Under normal circumstances, Koeman would not pick players with so little recent playing time but these are not normal circumstances. De Jong and Depay, along with the defender Virgil van Dijk, are the stars of the team and they will go to the Euros, fit or not. The national team coach is hopeful that, even if they are not ready to start the first group game, they will become available as the tournament goes on.
In goal, Koeman has yet to make a decision on who will start. Biljow, as mentioned, has had his injury problems while the other options, Brentford’s Mark Flekken and Brighton’s Bart Verbruggen, lack international tournament experience.
The qualifying campaign was not as serene as had hoped and contained a lot of drama, no more so than before the first game against France. In what later became known as “curry-cate”, several players at the national team retreat in Zeist fell ill on the eve of the game and were sent home in the middle of the night as the staff feared a bug. Only later did it become clear that it was the chicken curry served that night that had been the problem.
A weakened side quickly conceded twice in the first 10 minutes at Stade de France and went on to lost 4-0 on the night. They had to play catch-up from that moment and did not secure qualification until the penultimate game, against Ireland. The key win was a tense 1-0 victory in Athens against Greece in the game before.
Koeman is aware his side need to play better in Germany to go far. “We really know that we need to improve in a number of areas to compete with the other top countries,” he said after qualification was secured. “It is clear that football can and must be improved.”
The coach
Ronald Koeman is an experienced coach with an impressive club football CV. This is the 61-year-old’s second spell in charge but the first time he will take the team to a major tournament. During his first time with the Oranje they qualified for Euro 2020 but Barcelona came calling – and paid a €4m compensation to the Dutch football association – and he left before the tournament started. Things did not go as planned in Catalonia, however, and he returned as Netherlands coach in January 2020, promising a new, different style of play.
The icon
The Dutch team has always been about attacking football. The reputation of their style goes back to 1974 when they stunned the world with a new approach to football. These days, however, it is the defenders who excite the fans the most. The Liverpool and Netherlands captain Virgil van Dijk is the person who leads this team on and off the pitch. The 32-year-old has the same excellent relationship with Koeman as he did with Jürgen Klopp at Liverpool. Koeman, in fact, was the manager who brought Van Dijk to England while he was in charge with Southampton and told him he could become one of the best in the world.
One to watch
Ian Maatsen could be a surprise candidate for the left-back position in Germany as the former Manchester United defender Daley Blind (now at Girona) may finally have to step aside. It all depends on whether Koeman opts for a left-back who is supposed to contribute more to the attack or one who is seen as a safer option. Maatsen belongs to Chelsea but has had a superb season on loan at Borussia Dortmund, emerging as one of the most exciting left-backs in Europe.
The maverick
Memphis Depay is the one player Koeman needs to watch on and off the pitch. On it he can do brilliant things and could become the all-time men’s topscorer for Netherlands in this tournament. Off it, Depay is just as unpredictable and can stun his manager and teammates with videos on social media or cringe-worthy comments. His support for his former international teammate Quincy Promes, who has been convicted of drug trafficking and stabbing a cousin in the knee, has been heavily criticised in his home country. But Depay said: “He is a friend and I will never drop my family or my friends. I am not saying I agree with certain things, but I will always back my friends. My brother also spent 10 years in jail…”
The spine
The ideal spine of the team for the Netherlands would be Bijlow, Van Dijk, De Jong, and Depay. But it is highly unlikely that the experienced quartet will appear on the pitch at the same time during the group stage. Netherlands have another playmaker in PSV’s excellent midfielder Joey Veerman, who is expected to move to the Premier League or Serie A, in the summer so De Jong is unlikely to be risked early on. For Depay Ajax’ young striker, Brian Brobbey could be an option as a replacement.
Probable starting XI
5-3-2: Flekken – Dumfries, Geertruida, Van Dijk, Aké, Van de Ven – Reijnders, De Jong, Schouten – Depay, Gakpo.
Celebrity fan
The singer Jan Smit, who has released 24 studio albums, three live albums and 33 singles since 1997, is the team’s biggest fan among celebrities. He has filled football stadiums as a singer, but would rather be among the crowd like Rod Stewart with Scotland. He is going to perform at the Oranje fan villages in Germany. Smit, who was also the host of the Eurovision Song Contest in the Netherlands three years ago, is heavily involved in football. He was chairman of FC Volendam up until 2024 and they were promoted to the Eredivisie under his watch.
Culinary delight
The Dutch eat their favourite snack bitterballen at home in front of the TV or in the stadiums. A bitterball is not, despite its name, very bitter at all. Bitterballen are actually Dutch meatballs fried in oil and a very popular snack to have with a beer. Tourists get hooked on them. They normally come in portions of five or six.
The Netherlands player profiles
Mark Flekken
June 13, 1993
Goalkeeper
Brentford
Flekken is coming back to familiar ground: the Brentford goalkeeper shot to fame in German football. Few in the Netherlands had heard of the player who left Roda JC Kerkrade’s youth academy for the German side Alemannia Aachen in 2009 until he went viral twice. In 2016, he headed home an injury-time equaliser for Duisburg against Osnabrück. In early 2018, he made one of the most remarkable mistakes ever by a goalkeeper. He conceded an equaliser against Ingolstadt while walking back to his net to take a sip from his water bottle, not realising Duisburg’s “goal” at the other end had been disallowed. John van ‘t Schip, capped 41 times by the Oranje and latterly Greece coach, claims his discovery. He was watching Konstantinos Mavropanos play for Freiburg and spotted Flekken’s ability, tipping off the Dutch national coach. In October 2021, he received his first call-up. That December, Kicker magazine voted him the second-best goalkeeper in the Bundesliga, behind Manuel Neuer.
Justin Bijlow
January 22, 1998
Goalkeeper
Feyenoord
Bijlow is undoubtedly the most talented Dutch goalkeeper of his generation and was destined to become the national team’s regular keeper for years to come. But injuries have proved to be a major game-changer. There are only eight caps on his CV at the time of writing and a broken wrist troubled him in the run-up to the Euros. All of which makes it uncertain whether he’s returning in goal as the No 1. During the 2022-23 season with Feyenoord, Bijlow went viral for a clever but unsportsmanlike move. After sliding the ball out of play with a tackle far outside his area, he threw a second ball onto the pitch at the moment when opponents FC Twente wanted to take a quick throw-in. He was booked but avoided conceding a goal.
Bart Verbruggen
August 18, 2002
Goalkeeper
Brighton
By goalkeeper standards, Verbruggen is still very young. On his debut for the Dutch national team against France last autumn, he became the youngest goalkeeper in the Netherlands men’s senior team since 1967. Things have gone lightning fast for the 1.93m shot-stopper, who made the switch from Anderlecht to Brighton for €20m last summer. At the Belgian superpower, he acquired a reputation as a spot-kick specialist. In a penalty shootout after a playoff for the knockout phase of the Europa Conference League, he saved all three attempts by Ludogorets Razgrad players. Anderlecht’s 3-0 shootout triumph made Verbruggen the first goalkeeper in 35 years of European club football to keep a clean sheet during a penalty shootout. The question now is whether we will see a display of those skills at the European Championship.
Stefan de Vrij
February 5, 1992
Defender
Seven trophies in six seasons at Inter, including the league title in the 2023-2024 season, are proof that De Vrij made the right choice when he switched from Lazio to the Nerazzurri in the summer of 2018. He is a rock-solid presence in the heart of the Inter defence but has not always been able to get a starting place in the Netherlands national team because he has to compete with Virgil van Dijk and Nathan Aké at the back. Off the pitch, he has hit the headlines for a bitter court battle over the past two years. De Vrij had a dispute with his former agency, SEG, over millions of Euros in commission earned after he left Lazio. The player won his court battle and received an even larger amount of money (€5.2m) after he won the appeal brought by SEG, too.
Daley Blind
March 9, 1990
Defender
Girona
The son of the coach and former international Danny Blind, “Junior” was booed by his own club’s supporters early on, but left Ajax as the 2014 Dutch footballer of the year. That summer he also delivered the assist for one of the most beautiful World Cup goals: Robin van Persie’s floating header against Spain. Louis van Gaal took the left-back to Manchester United that summer, where he won the FA Cup and Europa League before Blind returned to Ajax and won seven league titles. Sometimes criticised for his lack of speed, but everyone praises his tactical insight and ability. “Our Franz Beckenbauer,” according to his former teammate Dusan Tadic, Blind has prolonged his career by playing with a defibrillator after a heart muscle inflammation was diagnosed in 2019. This season Blind once again proved his capability to play at the top level as he guided his current club Girona to their first Champions League qualification.
Nathan Aké
February 18, 1995
Defender
Pep Guardiola has a few players of whom he is most proud because they have developed beyond expectations. Aké is one of them. Chelsea must regret selling Aké to Bournemouth in 2017. At 1.80m, he was said to be too small for central defence, but his great timing means he wins headers against taller strikers. Aké moved to Chelsea at 16, was loaned out several times and eventually left. When Bournemouth were relegated in 2020, he joined Manchester City and Guardiola, “who immediately gave me a warm feeling,” Aké said. “The conversation was first about family and about life. His attacking way of playing suits me.” A few minutes after his first Champions League goal for City, Aké’s father died. He said of the goal: “This one was for you, Dad. You will always be in my heart.” Bayern Munich and PSG have shown an interest in signing Aké this year.
Virgil van Dijk
July 8, 1991
Defender
Liverpool
The highlight of the Liverpool linchpin’s season was marshalling a team packed with young players to a Carabao Cup final win over Chelsea, scoring the game’s only goal and keeping a clean sheet over 120 minutes. The next campaign will be his first at the club without Jürgen Klopp but Van Dijk knows a bit about overcoming difficult times. His journey to the top includes being discarded after being at Willem II’s academy. He has also overcome an obscure viral infection which almost cost him his life as well as an ACL injury. His motto is: “You have to step onto the pitch without fear”, and he believes that players should tell each other the truth. “You cannot always be nice if you want to achieve everything with a team,” he said. No Netherlands player is a bigger fan of the national team manager, Ronald Koeman, who brought the centre-back to the Premier League with Southampton and they have a great relationship. Van Dijk is Koeman’s voice on the pitch.
Micky van de Ven
April 19, 2001
Defender
Tottenham
Several studies have shown that the Dutch are the tallest people in the world with the country’s men coming in at an average of 1.84m. Micky van de Ven measures in well above that at 1.92m, which is not far off the national team totem Virgil van Dijk (1.95m). There is much more to the Tottenham defender than being tall, of course, and his speed is a major asset. In his first season in England, he broke the top speed record in the Premier League since records began in 2020-21, hitting 37.38 km/h against Brentford in January. Yes, that is even quicker than Kyle Walker. He has proved a huge hit at Spurs and could soon have similar popularity among the Dutch fans in Germany. Van de Ven could have been forgiven for being slightly distracted in the build-up to the Euros as he was involved in a legal fight with his first club Volendam over a share of the transfer fee when he moved to Tottenham. However, the dispute was resolved on the same day he was named in the Euro squad with the defender receiving a €400,000 payout.
April 18, 1996
Defender
Internazionale
The right wing-back has gradually worked his way up, constantly adding new elements to his game. He has been covering the entire right flank wherever he has played in recent years, has improved his crossing tremendously and also scores regularly. “If I am the second top goalscorer here, something is not going right,” he once declared when confronted with former club PSV’s scoring list. When his shots weren’t accurate enough, he spoke about his feet. “My whole family has hard feet, I should have softer feet. It could all be a bit more polished. It looks a bit clunky to me sometimes.” He has worked diligently and improved his finishing immensely. A player with a clear plan, in 2021 Dumfries resolved to leave PSV to play abroad and stuck to that, even though no deal had been done. Things eventually worked out with Inter. He won the league championship again this season: trophy number six in only three years.
Matthijs de Ligt
August 12, 1999
Defender
Bayern Munich
A frustrating season at Bayern Munich came to an end, in terms of competing for major trophies, when De Ligt’s finish was controversially ruled offside in the Champions League semi-final second leg against Real Madrid. Yet the 1.88m defender remains key for his dream club, which he joined two years ago from Juventus, and for his country. Back in his days as a prodigy at Ajax’s youth system, De Ligt initially played in central midfield. Becoming a central defender required some adjustment: “You used to have defenders who could head well or were strong on the ball. Now, so much is asked of you and you also have to be quick. To grow in that, you mainly have to learn from the wrong decisions you make.” Yet he is not afraid to get stuck in. “People call it dirty work when you do things in the service of the team. But I enjoy it immensely.”
December 10, 2000
Defender
Frimpong is one of many Dutch talents who went abroad early in life. Born in Amsterdam, he emigrated with his family to England when he was seven. The right wing-back with Ghanaian roots was picked up by Manchester City and trained there as a youth player. He did not play a senior game for City before joining Celtic in 2019, winning a domestic treble that season. In 2021, he made the switch to Bayer Leverkusen and last season thrived in their Bundesliga-winning campaign under Xabi Alonso, reaching double figures in goals across all competitions. Frimpong, who does not speak Dutch but dreams of success with the Oranje, was regularly selected for national youth teams before his full debut against France last year. ”I don’t speak Dutch but can understand it. I was born in the Netherlands so I want to play for the Oranje,” he has said.
Lutsharel Geertruida
July 18, 2000
Defender
Feyenoord
Born two minutes away from the Feyenoord stadium, it was always Geertruida’s dream to become a professional player for the club he had adored from the age of five. The versatile centre-back/right-back has shot to fame and is one of the team’s most popular players because of his pride in being a lad from “Zuid” (short for the southern part of Rotterdam, the poorer part of the city). Geertruida’s ambition was to become captain of his club, but that seemed difficult for a time because of a severe stammer. Taking speech therapy has helped him to deal with this, although he tends not to do media duties. Geertruida is expected to make a transfer to one of Europe’s bigger clubs – and could well follow in the footsteps of the departing Feyenoord manager, Arne Slot, to Liverpool.
Ian Maatsen
March 10, 2002
Defender
Chelsea
Maatsen belongs to Chelsea but has had a superb season on loan at Borussia Dortmund, emerging as one of the most exciting left-backs in Europe. He was surprisingly left out of the initial travelling party for the Euros but was called up after Frenkie De Jong was ruled out. Now in the squad, he has a chance of being a surprise candidate for the left-back position as the former Manchester United defender Daley Blind (now at Girona) may finally have to step aside. It all depends on whether Koeman opts for a left-back who is supposed to contribute more to the attack or one who is seen as a safer option.
May 16, 2002
Midfield
Liverpool
The Liverpool midfielder was a surprise late addition to the Dutch squad after injuries to Marten de Roon and Quinten Timber (the twin brother of Arsenal’s Jurriën) created a vacancy in the squad. Gravenberch would perhaps not even have made it if there hadn’t been fitness concerns for Frenkie de Jong. “The injuries mean that Gravenberch has landed with his nose in the butter,” said Ronald Koeman, a Dutch saying meaning that the 21-year-old had been lucky to make it. The coach went on to say, however, that the decision “had been made because of the talent I see in him”. There is some history between the two with the national team coach reportedly unimpressed that Gravenberch declined a call-up to the Under-21 squad when he had just joined Liverpool. The midfielder has not had the worst of seasons at his new club, featuring in 26 of Liverpool’s 38 league matches.
Tijjani Reijnders
July 28, 1998
Midfield
Reijnders is named after Tijani Babangida, a former Nigeria international who won hearts as a winger with Ajax and Roda JC at the turn of the century. As a player, he is quite different from the retired Nigerian, who flashed past his opponents at lightning speed. Reijnders has a more measured approach, knowing how to perfectly combine his skills and insight, driving forward and scoring regularly, which is why he immediately became an important player for Milan after his move to the Italian superpower from AZ in 2023. There are not many Eredivisie players who manage to make the step to a top league so convincingly. Reijnders’ little brother is also a professional: Eliano is active in the Eredivisie with PEC Zwolle.
Jerdy Schouten
January 12, 1997
Midfield
PSV Eindhoven
At Bologna, Schouten often played his football just out of sight of the national coach. Despite good performances in Italy, he played only one international game during his time there (2019-2023). He therefore decided to take his chances and return to the Netherlands at a relatively young age (26). That has worked out perfectly, as at PSV he has quickly become a mainstay in Peter Bosz’s championship-winning team. Moreover, he has proved versatile by dictating play both in midfield and from central defence when needed. No wonder that he has landed on Ronald Koeman’s radar. Although, according to Schouten, not much has changed: “In Italy I didn’t do anything different than here, but now you hear more about me.”
Joey Veerman
November 19, 1998
Midfield
PSV Eindhoven
Veerman is the textbook example of someone who builds his career carefully. He started at his boyhood club, FC Volendam, then moved to Heerenveen, before joining PSV: the midfielder has taken a step up every few years. Now that he has reached the top in the Netherlands and has a league title medal in his pocket with PSV, he can look at continuing that trend abroad. Interested clubs would get a real personality as well as a player. Veerman is not someone who minces words and interviews, just saying what he thinks. That makes him both loved and criticised at the same time. Fortunately, on the pitch, he speaks even better with his feet. He is among the players with the very best technique in the Eredivisie.
Georginio Wijnaldum
November 11, 1990
Midfield
Al-Ettifaq
After years of making waves on European pitches at Feyenoord, PSV, Newcastle, Liverpool and Paris St-Germain, Wijnaldum moved to Saudi Arabia last summer. The move brought with it a lot of criticism, because he was always one of the people on the Dutch national team who stood up to racism and discrimination supporting, among other groups, the LGBTQ+ community. After he disappeared off the international radar for a while, the national team coach, Ronald Koeman, called the central midfielder up again at the beginning of this year. When he made his return in an orange shirt, he became only the fifth player to feature in a senior international match for the Netherlands while he was active for a non-European club, joining Johan Neeskens, Ruud Krol, Wesley Sneijder and Vincent Janssen on that particular list.
Cody Gakpo
May 7, 1999
Forward
Liverpool
The talented former PSV forward/winger was crowned the Dutch Footballer of the Year in 2022. No surprise, perhaps, given that he learned his profession from the very best: one of his youth coaches was a certain Ruud van Nistelrooy. For a long time, everyone expected Gako to join Erik ten Hag at Manchester United, but he surprised everyone after the World Cup in Qatar – where the 1.93m attacker scored three goals for the Oranje – with his move to Liverpool. He has struggled to find a consistently high level at Anfield, but in some European games – such as against Sparta Prague – he has proved his value. In April, he became the father of a son, Samuel.
Donyell Malen
January 19, 1999
Forward
Borussia Dortmund
Malen played for the academies of Ajax then Arsenal before making the move to PSV Eindhoven. After an excellent season in 2020-21, in which he scored 27 goals, he joined Borussia Dortmund in that summer, signing a five-year contract. It took some time for him to reach his explosive best, but last season Malen performed at a very high level in Bundesliga and in Champions League games. Often he has been the deciding player in vital matches. Yet that does not guarantee a place as a regular in the Dutch national team. So far Ronald Koeman has been using the pacy striker/winger with the elite dribbling skills mostly as a substitute.
Joshua Zirkzee
22 May, 2001
Forward
Bologna
The 23-year-old was rewarded for a superb season with Bologna when called up for the Euros. But the call came late. So late, in fact, that he was on his way to Disney World in Florida when he was notified of his inclusion. Having initially been left out of the 26, Ronald Koeman called on his services when both Frenkie De Jong and Teun Koopmeiners were ruled out with injuries. He posted a picture of himself with a huge grin on his face with the words: “When you have to leave Disney for the Euros.” Born in the Rotterdam area he played for Feyenoord but was snapped up by Bayern Munich at the age of 16. He fought his way into the first-team squad but opportunities were limited and joined Bologna on a permanent transfer in 2022 after loan spells at Anderlecht and Parma. Bayern knew how good he is though and did not quite want to let go. “We have agreed a buyback clause because we think that Joshua remains a very interesting player for us,” said Hasan Salihamidzic, the sporting director back then.
Steven Bergwijn
October 8, 1997
Forward
Ajax
Ajax made four serious attempts to bring this youth product, who left for PSV in 2011, back to Amsterdam. They finally succeeded in 2022. The club paid a record fee of €31.25m to Tottenham, where Bergwijn had largely failed to live up to expectations. After 16 goals in 2022-23, this past season was difficult with Ajax struggling badly in the Eredivisie. Bergwijn, who had to deal with several injuries, captained the side but was not always involved. It seems a long way from his Champions League debut for PSV in late 2015 when his star was rising fast in the Netherlands. Under the former coach Louis van Gaal, he was a key part of the Dutch attack alongside Memphis Depay. In Germany, they may still be the two preferred attackers of Ronald Koeman.
Memphis Depay
February 13, 1994
Forward
Atlético Madrid
Memphis initially played with the name Depay on his back at PSV and with the Dutch national team. He decided to drop his surname because his father left the family when he was four and was out of contact for many years, though they have been reconciled. A difficult childhood was reflected in Memphis’s sometimes unruly behaviour. Yet the documentary With Both Feet showed another side to him, including the enormous willpower needed to come back quickly after a cruciate ligament injury. Last year saw Memphis recovering from that setback, and continuing to settle in after his 2023 move from Barcelona to Atlético Madrid. He loves playing for the national team. Memphis is closing in on the Netherlands’ all-time record goalscorer, Robin van Persie.
Xavi Simons
April 21, 2003
Forward
RB Leipzig
Named after Xavi Hernandez, the Amsterdam-born Simons moved to Barcelona when he was seven, where he went through youth training. In 2019, he switched to PSG and made it to the senior squad but with minimal chance of playing time. The French team sent him on loan to PSV, where he performed excellently, finishing as the Eredivisie’s joint-top scorer in 2022-23. The winger continued that form at RB Leipzig last season; his level at the beginning of the campaign was sensational. In the summer he will leave for another team, probably Barcelona. His father, Regillio Simons, is a manager who took charge of Volendam last season but could not avoid relegation from the Eredivisie. While exciting at club level, Xavi Simons has struggled to make an impression in the national team. He looks set for a role as a substitute during the Euros.
Brian Brobbey
February 1, 2002
Forward
Ajax
Brobbey was chosen by the fans of Ajax as their player of the year in a season full of trouble. The striker himself was plagued by hamstring injuries but, when fit, he performed well. Ajax sold Brobbey in 2021 to RB Leipzig. A year later he was back in the Amsterdam Arena, scoring impressive goals. This past season, he was involved in an unfortunate situation that dominated Dutch news. The RKC Waalwijk goalkeeper Etienne Vaessen was stretchered off unconscious after a collision with Brobbey. It reminded fans of the horrific injury to the former Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech. Like Cech, Vaessen made a comeback but is wearing a protective helmet. Brobbey showed excellent character and gave Vaessen his shirt as a present for the son of the goalkeeper, who is a big fan of the forward. Injuries have restricted Brobbey’s contribution to the national team so far.
Wout Weghorst
August 7, 1992
Forward
Hoffenheim (On loan from Burnley)
Weghorst proved his value as a super-sub in the Qatar World Cup. He changed the game against Argentina, scoring two goals and leading the Dutch team to extra time, before clashing with none other than Lionel Messi. To climb his way up at club level and to make it to the national team was not easy for Weghorst. He didn’t succeed in getting a contract anywhere at the start of his career. His father supported his early years in his professional career but, step by step, the 1.98m striker moved up the ladder. Eventually, he made it to AZ Alkmaar, Burnley and even Manchester United, thanks to Erik ten Hag. Weghorst did not score in any Premier League games for United but at his present club, Hoffenheim, he has been more successful. In the national team, the fans adore him for his fighting spirit and for his emotional explosions after games.
