Ronald Koeman under pressure following ‘negative’ substitutions following Netherlands World Cup opener
· Yahoo Sports
Coming into the World Cup, Netherlands head coach Ronald Koeman was already under pressure from media and fans. His loyalty to some players at the expense of others was questioned, although in fairness to Koeman he had called up some players outside of his usual favourites. One of this, Crysencio Summerville, scored a wonderful goal to give Oranje a 2-1 lead over Japan in their opening game. However, Koeman then took Summerville off, a move that has received criticism from fans and media alike.
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Just six minutes after taking a 2-1 lead, Koeman moved to replace Donyell Malen, Summerville and Tijjani Reijnders with Memphis Depay, Teun Koopmeiners and Quinten Timber. Of those changes, Depay and Koopmeiners have been the ones focused on by fans. Given that this defaulted the Dutch to sitting in and absorbing Japanese pressure, the side suddenly had no out ball, with Summerville and Malen having shown the ability to stretch the Japanese defence. When Nathan Ake replaced Ryan Gravenberch, it was clear that Koeman was looking to hold on to the lead.
Unfortunately for the Netherlands, the side were unable to hold on. NEC Nijmegen forward Koki Ogawa came off the bench to head a corner against his teammate Daichi Kamada and into the net late on.
Japan were always going to be the toughest game for the Netherlands in the Group Stages, but the performance left a lot to be desired and has heaped even more pressure on Koeman. Next up is a clash with a Swedish side who just hammered a poor Tunisia, before a final group match against the North Africans to end the group. Failure to beat Sweden could heap plenty of pressure on the Dutch, but realistically they should make it through to the next round of the World Cup with a victory over Tunisia in the final game. Four points in this format will almost certainly be enough to qualify for the next round.