Weghorst relieves interventionist Koeman

The alarm generated in the center of Hamburg by a disturbed man who was shot dead by the police after threatening people with a kind of ice ax, did not harm the extraordinary atmosphere of a match with alternatives that Weghorst resolved in the final stretch, nothing more entering instead of Memphis, but in which the fans were well above the players. They took advantage of the proximity to Germany, a country bordering Poland and the Netherlands, to move en masse.

Ronald Koeman’s team won fairly, thanks to two assists from Aké to Gapko and the Hoffenheim striker, but it was difficult for them to come back against an opponent who took the lead in a strategic action and was punished for retreating excessively. And when he tried to stretch, he blamed the key absences of Lewandowski and Milik. The ‘Oranje’ will be in the round of 16, but must progress to be included in the group of favorites.

Both teams showed they were far from their glorious past in an event with historical reminiscences. Half a century ago, the ’74 World Cup, the desired duel between these two countries could not be played. The German Federal Republic of Beckenbauer and the Torpedo Müller were crowned, but the Dutch and Poles were the most colorful. They were times of Krool, Neeskens, Rep or Johan Cruyff in the tulips and of the Poles Zmuda, Deyna, Lato and Szarmach. Curiously, the old Hamburg stadium, transformed for the 2006 World Cup, was then the scene of an iconic duel between the former communist German Democratic Republic and its western neighbors. It was played almost in the cold war and the GDR won.

Returning to the present, Koeman’s troops came out bossily, tilting the field towards Gapko, the best on the grass. The Liverpool striker starts from the left, with a changed leg, and was a problem for Frankowski, Lens’ winger. He immediately warned with a low shot, but Juventino Szcesny proved to be a great goalkeeper. He then made another superb save, after a very plastic volley from Van Dijk in a battering ram style.

Lewandowski’s replacement marks

Poland, however, defended well and surprised with a corner kick. Zielinski, the most technical of the Central Europeans, put a tense ball and Buksa, Lewandowski’s substitute, anticipated behind. Great header from the Antalyaspor striker, defended in an incomprehensible way by Dumfries, a full-back. Gapko, who else, was in charge of restoring tranquility to his country in a somewhat fortunate action, since his shot hit a defender. Memphis had a great chance that crossed too far, but the Netherlands was missing a pointer to pin on one of the three centre-backs. Depay is dangerous, but he is a floating forward who likes to go down and receive.

The Dutch team accelerated after the break, somewhat more faithful to their idiosyncrasy as an offensive team. When Aké and Dumpfries, their two full-backs, advanced, the Poles became disorganized. Xavi Simons was very uninvolved and with half an hour left the interventionist Koeman replaced him with Malen, deeper and more unbalanced on the wing and a nuisance for Zalewski, a false winger who attacks better than defends. He also removed Veerman because risks had to be taken and De Jong’s replacement was threatened with a card. Opposite, Probierz, the coach who changed the erratic dynamic of the brief Fernando Santos era, had already made three substitutions. He didn’t like something. His compatriots fell back too much and Koeman’s bet in the final stretch on Weghorst and Frimpong instead of the exhausted Gapko and Memphis worked out wonderfully. In the first one he played, the Hoffenheim striker resolved the duel. Again, Aké participated. The ‘Oranje’ advances.