Oranje lose to Italy in the third-place play-off for the Nations League

The final round of the Nations League has ended in disappointment for the Dutch national team. Oranje was defeated in the third-place play-off against Italy (2-3) in Enschede and has finished in fourth place and last place in their own country.

Manager Ronald Koeman was surely expecting something better on his return as Netherlands manager. Between the losses against France (4-0), Croatia (4-2), and Italy (3-2), the side was only able to celebrate a poor victory against Gibraltar (3-0).

Of course, France, Croatia, and Italy are not teams you expect to beat easily. But anyone that saw Oranje play in the first half against Italy will even worry about the matches against The Republic of Ireland and Greece in September in the qualifiers for the European Championships.

Koeman demanded plenty of energy from his players before the match. He warned that the game against Italy would affect his decisions for the next few matches. Yet the Netherlands started the match poorly.

Oranje started at a slow tempo and lost a lot of possession. Donyell Malen lost sight of his opponent Frederico Dimarco on three occasions in the opening phase. Dimarco scored in the sixth minute, after a backheel by Giacomo Raspadori. The left-back was also at the forefront of the second Italian goal scored by Davide Frattesi. Oranje was only dangerous near the end of the first half. Cody Gakpo’s shot went just wide.

Oranje started with more or less the same team as they did in the semi-final against the Croatians. Noa Lang came into the side as a left winger, and Xavi Simons replaced Teun Koopmeiners in midfield. The last mentioned was surprising as Koeman had said in a press conference last week that Simons should focus on the left wing position.

Koeman made three substitutions at halftime. Wout Weghorst, Georginio Wijnaldum and Steven Bergwijn came on for Lang, Lutsharel Geertruida and Malen. Playing with just three defenders ensured that the side produced the energy the manager had requested. The home side created chances but did not come further than a goal from Bergwijn. Just four minutes later, Chiesa scored again for Italy (1-3). After a Weghorst goal was disallowed, Wijnaldum decided the final score in the 89th minute.