On Friday, the two teamsthat finished atop Group Aon Matchday 1 of the 2022 Qatar World Cup, the Netherlandsand Ecuador will playagainst one another. As the tournament opened, La Trispoilt the scene for Qatar by defeating the hosts, 2-0. The Dutch also won 2-0, but their game against Senegal was much closer and included a couple of late goals that made things interesting.
The Oranjemay have struggled in their first two games, but they still enter this match as heavy favorites to advance out of Group A.
With a win, Van Gaal’s playerswill be three points ahead of Qatar, the group’s worst team that has lost once again today, 3-1 to Senegal.
Meanwhile, given their remaining schedule, the CONMEBOL side haveto win to have any chance of finishing first in their group. However, even without Memphis Depay in the starting lineup, the Dutch still pose a threat because of the potency of their offense.
Why is Netherlands’Memphis Depay starting on the bench againstEcuador?
Memphis Depayhas had a peculiar 2022-23 campaign. The Dutch forward eventually stayed at Barcelona despite seeing little playing time in the early going of the season; he was in the lineup three times before suffering a thigh injury while on international duty in late September.
Although the original prognosis for his return to action was a month, Memphis did not return to action for Xavi Hernandez’s side before the World Cup break.The Netherlands’ No. 10 did not even start against Senegal because theOranje manager Louis van Gaaldid not believe he was physically ready to return to action after the long injury layoff.
The skilled attacker, though, did not enter the game until the 61st minute of the second half. Depay clearly seemed rusty following his stint on the sidelines, as he was unable to contribute much during his time on the field. Hedid get some good news just before the final whistle when his effort was deflected right to Davy Klaassen, who slotted it in easily for the second goal of the game.
In his post-game press conference, Van Gaal confirmed that the 28-year-old would not be starting against Ecuador and hinted that he would be entering the game in the second half: “He has played 30 minutes and the next step would be 45 minutes. The injury he has makes it so difficult to decide when he can start so we have to look at him.”
“But he is an extraordinary player and so I have set aside my principles because I consider him to be incredibly important to my team. I explained this to the players, that I am doing all this for Memphis, and the players accepted this.”
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Netherlands vs Ecuador: Who will be the referee for the World Cup Group A match?
