Football NOS•
The Netherlands national team will meet the United States on Saturday afternoon at 4 pm Dutch time. At stake is a place in the quarter-finals. “You can’t make any mistakes,” says Martin de Roon. “You can’t lose.”
During a press moment a couple of days before the game, De Roon says he doesn’t have to worry about the Orange still to shine. “I would like to be world champion without playing a good game.”
“Of course everyone wants to play well, everyone would prefer to play out, win 5-0 and become champions. But that’s not always the case. We’re looking, it’s clear.”
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“The positive we haven’t lost yet,” De Roon tries to give it a positive touch. “So if we don’t play well, we’ll get results. That might also give confidence that he can only get better.”
The midfielder, who had a place as a starter against Qatar for the first time in the World Cup finals, said he hoped the Dutch team’s match would improve this tournament. “But the first goal is just to move forward.”
De Roon hardly receives criticism from the outside. “I don’t read much, because what’s the point? It’s better to look for solutions together inside as we look hard. We don’t consciously play bad.”
Dumfries Trust
Denzel Dumfries reports the same. “We analyze very well what we can do better, but the most important thing is to win. I’m confident we will do better.”
The 26-year-old right-back is already looking forward to the meeting with the United States. “We analyzed them and they’re a good team with a lot of energy. They’re doing well. They also want to play football, they want to go forward and apply pressure. That also benefits our game. I think it definitely suits our game. We.”
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Christian Pulisic may have returned to the United States. The 24-year-old striker scored the winning goal against Iran on Tuesday, but was injured during his goal and had to be substituted.
Plan against Pulisic
According to Dumfries, the oranges are well prepared for a Pulisic presence. He laughs: “We have a plan, but I won’t tell you. That would be stupid.”
In the absence of the national coach at the press moment, the 40-times international immediately gave a medical update on Jeremy Frimpong and Stéphane de Vrij. Frimpong developed a sore ankle from Wednesday’s training and De Vrij trained separately.
“Stefan is doing a great job,” says Dumfries of his Inter teammate. “As far as I know he’s doing well. Frimpong is also doing well, he’s fit too.”
