Lucky to beat Luxembourg, Blind’s Netherlands in need of vision, identity and a core

Netherlands were in danger of coming away with only a draw against Luxembourg, writes Richard Jolly.

Memphis Depay scored two goals for the Netherlands on Sunday night, but his team were far from convincing during their World Cup qualifier. Eric Vidal / Reuters

Luxembourg 1

Chanot 44’

Netherlands 3

Robben 36’, Depay 58’, 84’

Man of the match Memphis Depay (Netherlands)

Ignominy threatened to follow indignity for the Netherlands. Theirs has been a sudden fall: swift, hubristic and unexpected. But even by their standards, this threatened to be an unprecedented embarrassment.

Derbies for the Dutch used to entail meetings with West Germany on the biggest of stages, the 1974 World Cup final and the Euro ’88 semi-finals. They had taken on a different, lesser meaning this week. A friendly draw with Belgium was one thing, being held by Luxembourg another.

With 32 minutes remaining, humiliation beckoned for the Netherlands. A sense of drift seemed pervasive. Their performance had been ponderous and poor, their finishing wasteful. Their two senior players had already been substituted. Their manager’s decision-making looked odd, to say the least. But it helps in troubled times to have reliable relatives.

Daley Blind, son of manager Danny Blind, swung in a series of inviting crosses from the left wing. One found the head of the half-time arrival Memphis Depay. His thumping header flew in. A goal made in Manchester was Depay’s first in competitive international football for 874 days. Luxembourg had come from behind once. This time there was no repeat. Depay added a second 25 minutes later with a fine free kick.

Netherlands’ abiding emotion should be of relief. It could have been worse. Their day of reckoning has been postponed. Deliver such displays in 2017, however, and they can rule out appearing at the 2018 World Cup. It would be the first time since the 1980s that they miss consecutive tournaments but, after finishing third in the 2014 World Cup, they only came fourth in a qualifying group for Euro 2016. They went from magnificent to mediocre in rapid time.

There are few signs a return journey is under way. They are in a three-way scrap with Sweden and Bulgaria for second place in Group A behind France, who have already beaten each of the trio. Netherlands’ wins, in contrast, have come against Belarus and Luxembourg.

And a draw seemed all too possible when Joshua Brenet bundled into Daniel da Mota. Maxime Chanot converted the penalty, sending Maarten Stekelenburg the wrong way to score Luxembourg’s first goal against Netherlands since 1963. This is one of the better Luxembourg sides, but they have only won four of 128 World Cup qualifiers. Netherlands laboured to inflict their 116th defeat.

Arjen Robben illuminated an otherwise undistinguished first half with incisive running. His goal featured a classy flick from Davy Klaassen, but was nonetheless fortunate, as Robben looked fractionally offside.

Blind’s plan, such as it was, seemed to be relying on individual inspiration from the captain but he mysteriously went off at half time, along with the anonymous Wesley Sneijder, the other main throwback to happier days. Blind can cite Depay’s impact as proof his decisions can pay off but a search for a winning formula continues.

Netherlands are in need of an identity and a core, for both the short- and the long-term. Footballers often peak between the ages of 27 and 31 but they contained a solitary such starter, Bas Dost. Blind is splicing together generations in an attempt to compensate for a void. Robben and Sneijder now have 215 caps while the PSV Eindhoven duo of Bart Ramselaar and Brenet made maiden starts. It proved an unhappy one for the right-back.

He highlighted that youth in itself is no promise of a brighter future. So does Depay who has looked a case of unfulfilled potential since Louis van Gaal branded him the greatest talent of his generation. He belatedly proved the scourge of Luxembourg’s debutant goalkeeper Ralph Schon, who made a string of saves.

Schon overachieved. Once again, Netherlands underachieved.

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