History was made as Netherlands secured their first win over Germany in over 16 years.
Ronald Koeman’s side romped to a 3-0 victory over Die Mannschaft in the Nations League on Saturday, piling pressure on boss Joachim Low.
Virgil van Dijk’s first-half header gave the Dutch the lead before Memphis Depay and Georginio Wijnaldum bagged late goals to register a convincing win in Amsterdam.
Here, we analyse the individual display of Barcelona target Matthijs de Ligt.
STATISTICS
Tackles – 1
Interceptions – 1
Clearances – 3
Blocked shots – 6
Aerials won – 2
Pass accuracy – 76.5%
Tocuhes – 68
Dispossessed – 1
30-SECOND REPORT
Playing at right centre-back alongside Van Dijk, De Ligt was an imposing figure in the Netherlands defence. He did have a couple of weak moments early on but quickly put them behind him and was solid for the rest of the match.
He did well to largely keep Timo Werner quiet as the pacey forward tried to get in behind the teenage centre-back. De Ligt threatened Germany’s goal as well. He headed Depay’s delivery from a free-kick wide in the 21st minute. Having attacked the ball well, the contact with his head was miscued and made for a weak effort in the end.
With the Oranje holding a one-goal advantage, Leroy Sane and Julian Draxler were introduced for Germany in the 57th minute. The threat to Netherlands’ goal almost immediately grew but De Ligt showed great composure to help his side deal with the onslaught and ultimately catch their opponents out on the break.
GOT RIGHT
Recovery – De Ligt is not blessed with bags of pace but he is quick off the mark. That acceleration came to his aid when the likes of Timo Werner and Leroy Sane got past him on a few of occasions. They didn’t get far though as De Ligt was able to catch up with long strides and use his strength to his advantage.
Reading of the game – De Ligt didn’t fly into a lot of tackles, he’s not that type of centre-back. His game is based more on anticipation and composure. He stood tall and was unfazed when pacey attackers ran at him. His interceptions and crucial blocks stood out but his verbal organisation of the defence alongside Van Dijk was also impressive.
GOT WRONG
Concentration – Like any young defender, De Ligt is susceptible to lapses in concentration and he did have a couple of shaky moments early on in the match. Werner exchanged passes with Hector and ran away from him before a poor touch allowed Mark Uth to latch onto the ball on the edge of the box.
Passing – Ideally, a Dutch centre-back should be good on the ball and while De Ligt is no slouch, there is room for improvement. He did tend to get boxed in at times under Germany’s high press and registered a modest pass success rate of 76.5 per cent – his central defensive partner Van Dijk had 89.6 per cent.
Matthijs De Ligt (L)
VERDICT
De Ligt had a couple of shaky moments during the early exchanges but nothing too catastrophic and seemed to get his head in the game thereafter. He grew in stature as the contest progressed and made some crucial interventions. He became the first teenager to earn 10 caps for Netherlands in 85 years on the night but already looks like an established figure in the side.
RATING: 7/10
All statistics are compiled using whoscored.com
