Group A at this winter’s World Cup may be more competitive than people realize. Qatar is going to be a tough outing. The team with some of its Brazil born players, and hometown perks could surprise some people. Whatever happens with Qatar, Senegal, or Ecuador, though, the clear favorite to win the group are certainly the Netherlands. This team had some trouble handing the baton to the new generation after the Arjen Robben’s and Wesley Sneijder’s of the world retired. Recently though they seem to be one of the only European teams that are coming into the World Cup with positive results in the Nations League. All that is a bit perplexing because when you look at the guys that they’re putting out on the pitch they don’t seem to have an overly talented team.
Is This Netherlands Team More Talented Than Senegal or Ecuador?
Yes there’s Virgil van Dijk, Memphis Depay, Frankie de Jong, and Daley Blind has some experience, but when you look at the rest of the squad there aren’t a ton of players that are going to stand out. There’s an argument to be made that they’ve actually had to scrape the bottom of the barrel to be able to find players to call up to the national team in recent months. As was mentioned before it’s perplexing to see them get a win against Belgium.
When you look at both rosters, particularly the guys that were on the pitch for both sides, very few people would’ve picked the Netherlands to come out with a win in that matchup. At the end of the day what’s important is to find ways to win, and the Netherlands are getting that done. When you look at the roster though the difference between them, and Ecuador or Senegal may not be all that great. That’s certainly something to watch out for.
An Experienced Manager & Good Defense
Other than Memphis Depay the team may have some trouble finding players that can play up top and provide consistent offense. Luckily for them, that’s not necessarily what this team’s based on. They are led by Virgil van Dijk, and a tough defense with a young midfield that plays with or without the ball. That’s key when you’re playing in a tournament in which one mistake can mean that you’re completely out of it. We can’t understate the importance of a manager like Louis van Gaal. As a person he may not be the perfect role model. When coaching at the club level he’s shown he’s a bit prejudiced against Latin American players which is certainly something that we do not condone.
Still, to say that he’s an experienced manager would be an understatement. Quite simply he has been one of the best managers of the modern era. At 71 many people were certainly surprised that he took on the challenge of righting the ship with the Dutchmen which was going through some troubled times after Ronald Koeman dumped them to take the Barcelona job. This Netherlands team is going to play everyone tough, but they may be lacking an extra offensive piece.
Projected Finish In The Group
Even though we think that the Netherlands aren’t necessarily going to blow past everyone in the group, they should still lead the standings at the end of the third matchday. The winner of the group could hypothetically avoid a second round matchup against England who on paper are projected to win group B. So there’s no question that the Netherlands are going to want to win the group at all costs. As we’ve mentioned the gap in talent between them and Ecuador or Senegal is not huge, but we do see them pulling past these two.
