Football

Netherlands vs Greece player ratings: Oranje dismantle Greece in emphatic fashion

September 7, 2023 9:53 pm
Netherlands vs Greece player ratings: Oranje dismantle Greece in emphatic fashion
EINDHOVEN - (l-r) Marten de Roon of Holland, September 2023 in Eindhoven, Netherlands. ANP GERRIT VAN COLOGNE - Photo by Icon sport

  • Netherlands overcome Greece 3-0 in crucial Euro 2024 qualifying match in Eindhoven.
  • Three first-half goals from De Roon, Gakpo and Weghorst secured Ronald Koeman’s side the victory and they are now in second place in Group B.
  • The win should alleviate some pressure from Ronald Koeman after a poor start to his second tenure as the Netherlands boss.

Netherlands player ratings: Oranje put on dominant show in Eindhoven

Mark Flekken 7/10 – Wasn’t called on an awful lot but his distribution to get his team moving was impressive.

Lutsharel Geertruida 7/10 – A solid display at the back alongside Ake and Van Dijk.

Nathan Ake 8/10 – Looks the coolest man at the back, which is some feat when he’s playing with Van Dijk.

Virgil van Dijk 7/10 – Controlled the tempo of the Dutch build-up from the heart of the defence.

Daley Blind 6/10 – Seems to somehow get slower each time you watch him but is a natural on the ball.

Denzel Dumfries 8/10 – His delivery is quite something when he gets it right and tonight was one of those nights.

Frenkie de Jong 8/10 – Moved through the gears in the first half which allowed the Netherlands to pin Greece in their own half.

Marten de Roon 8/10 – Took his goal really well when he could easily have snatched at it.

Cody Gakpo 8/10 – A much better display from the Liverpool man after a poor start to the season for his club.

Wout Weghorst 9/10 – The best player on the pitch – linked up everything expertly and deserved his goal.

Xavi Simons 7/10 – Provides this Netherlands team with a bit of unpredictability. One to keep an eye on in the coming years.

Substitutes

Stefan de Vrij 7/10 – Slotted in seamlessly after the break.

Noa Lang 6/10 – More to come from him.

Tijjani Reijnders N/A

Greece player ratings: A sorry performance from Gus Poyet’s men

Odysseas Vlachodimos 6/10 – Can’t blame him for any of the three goals and prevented it from being even more.

Lazaros Rota 4/10 – Couldn’t get to grips with Gakpo throughout the 90 minutes and gave him the freedom of the box for the Liverpool man’s goal.

Panagiotis Retsos 5/10 – Was bullied by Weghorst.

Pantelis Chatzidiakos 4/10 – His aggressive style of play perhaps isn’t suited against a team that moves the ball so quickly.

Konstantinos Tsimikas 3/10 – Allowed Dumphries to attack down the right-hand side with complete freedom.

Anastasios Bakasetas 6/10 – Looked like the only Greece player who could get on the ball and do anything in midfield.

Manolis Siopis 3/10 – Sloppy in possession and went sleeping out of it.

Dimitrios Kourbelis 4/10 – Put in a shift but struggled to get close to de Jong and de Roon.

Georgios Masouras 4/10 – On the rare occasion the ball went forward, Masouras seemed to lose it.

Vangelis Pavlidis 5/10 – Fed off scraps and couldn’t have done an awful lot more in truth.

Petros Mantalos 5/10 – Similar to Pavlidis in that he was let down by his deeper teammates.

Substitutes

Dimitrios Giannoulis N/A

Konstantinos Koulierakis N/A

Taxiarchis Fountas N/A

Georgios Giakoumakis N/A

Andreas Bouchalakis N/A

Netherlands vs Greece match summary and highlights

Going into the match, the Netherlands knew that anything other than a win would be insufficient after a disappointing start to life under Ronald Koeman for the second time. Prior to tonight, the Netherlands had just one competitive win to their name since the World Cup and that was against Gibraltar so the pressure was very much on the boys in orange to deliver in front of a home crowd.

A quick start was the order of the day and Koeman got exactly what he wanted when Martin de Roon smashed the ball into the back of the net from a knockdown in the box in the 17th minute. It was the midfielder’s first goal for his country and set them up for an excellent first half.

The second, and best goal of the night, came 14 minutes later when Cody Gakpo finished off a liquid Netherlands move with an emphatic volley. If victory wasn’t already secured at this point then it was eight minutes later when ex-Manchester United man, Wout Weghorst, got the third goal of the half with a thumping header from close range.

The second half was nothing more than a precession with Koeman ringing the changes early on to ensure his squad is in tip-top shape for their next game on Sunday away at Ireland.

Player of the match: Wout Weghorst

Wout Weghorst may have enjoyed a turbulent temporary spell at Man Utd last season, but that hasn’t put Ronald Koeman off the big man. He repaid his manager’s trust tonight with a complete centre forward display, linking up excellently with the midfield and wingers and topped it all off with a headed goal at the end of the first half.

Subscribe to Punditfeed on Google News for all the latest updates from the world of sports!