History was made as Netherlands secured their first win over Germany in over 16 years.
Ronald Koeman’s side romped to a 3-0 victory over their opponents in the Nations League on Saturday, piling pressure on boss Joachim Low.
Virgil van Dijk’s first-half header gave the Dutch the lead before Memphis Depay and Georginio Wijnaldum bagged late goals to register a convincing win in Amsterdam.
Here, we analyse the individual display of Barcelona target Frenkie de Jong.
STATISTICS
Passes – 51
Key Passes – 1
Pass Accuracy – 94.1%
Touches – 60
Dribbles – 1
Dispossessed – 0
Tackles – 2
Shots – 0
30-SECOND REPORT
In a game that also featured Toni Kroos, it was De Jong who stood out as the star in midfield. He effortlessly dictated play while his team was in possession and one of his runs forward with the ball earned a free-kick from which Netherlands nearly profited.
Another superb run through the middle later in the first period saw him lay the ball off only for Steven Bergwijn to fire wide from 25 yards. Up against Kroos, Joshua Kimmich and Emre Can, De Jong protected the ball superbly and closed down his counterparts well too, ensuring they didn’t have it all their own way.
The Ajax youngster did a great job of shielding the defence as well, positioning himself correctly and covering spaces. He never had a sight at goal though and was replaced in the 76th minute as Koeman switched to a more counter-attacking approach with Germany committing numbers forward.
GOT RIGHT
Passing – It’s no secret that De Jong’s passing is among his foremost attributes and this display only furthered his reputation as an orchestrator in midfield. He dictated the tempo for Netherlands and directed their attacks. His ability to show composure and pick out a pass under pressure is truly special. He did that well against a formidable German midfield.
Driving runs – An anchorman and deep-lying playmaker he may be but De Jong is also mobile. He boasts a good turn of pace but his deceptive speed is not what primarily facilitates his driving runs forward. His ability to spot space to surge through the heart of the opposition is complimented by the way he protects the ball while navigating past players.
GOT WRONG
Piercing passes – Given his vast array of passes, perhaps De Jong could’ve been a bit more adventurous with his passes forward. He didn’t play safe sideways passes but with the pace of Depay, Steven Bergwijn and Ryan Babel at his disposal, he failed to tap into that with balls in behind the defence, either along the deck or over the top.
Goal threat – Scoring goals is understandably low on his list of priorities and rightly so. However, the odd effort from range would only give the opposition another thing to think about. He had no attempts in this match and also refrained from venturing into the penalty area. Given his withdrawn role, he could get some joy from ghosting into the box on the rare occasion.
Frenkie de Jong (r)
VERDICT
He seems destined to be a mainstay in this Dutch side for years to come and his distribution makes it easy to see why Barcelona are keeping a close eye on him. He shone against tough opposition and it was impossible to get the ball off him. He was never dispossessed, fending off challenges admirably.
RATING: 8/10
All statistics are compiled using whoscored.com