ESPN analysts point to Peter Bosz regarding the Oranje team: 'But we don't have him'

For the Netherlands national team, next Sunday at 10 p.m. Dutch time marks the first match of the 2026 World Cup on the calendar. The lineup of national coach Ronald Koeman, with PSV player Guus Til in the squad, will play in Dallas against Japan.

In recent months, there has been a great deal of discussion in the Netherlands about the ideal setup of Oranje during the World Cup in North America. In addition to the debate about the striker position, there has also been a lot of discussion about the ideal midfield of the Netherlands national team.

ESPN analysts Arnold Bruggink and Kees Kwakman are also not exactly impressed by the current midfield consisting of Frenkie de Jong, Ryan Gravenberch and Tijani Reijnders. ''I'm not really a fan of this combination of players. I think it's a bit too much of the same,'' says Bruggink on ESPN.

The former PSV player therefore also argues for Justin Kluivert to start. ''I'm a personal fan of Justin Kluivert. He has as a ten a threat toward goal and can score. I think Reijnders as a shuttle player is best, as an eight. I think he can also become more dangerous. And then Frenkie de Jong is the six in your team. That complements it. Everyone can play football incredibly well. The difficulty for a coach lies in the fact that you want to have all the good players on the pitch'', said Bruggink.

According to Kwakman, Reijnders' football play is not spectacular as an attacking midfielder. ''You see him make runs without the ball, but you actually only see Van Dijk occasionally playing a through ball. Those balls don’t come off very often. You sometimes see De Jong looking for it, especially around the box. From midfield, a through ball—that you don’t see. Reijnders does have a feel for getting into the box. I don’t think he’s great as a footballer, as number ten. There, too, even against Uzbekistan, he gives the ball away a lot. Kluivert feels more comfortable with people around him'', so says the Volendam analyst.

The former footballer also makes a remarkable statement in which current PSV coach Peter Bosz is brought up. ''Against Uzbekistan, Peter Bosz had put Frenkie de Jong at the back. Then the midfielder can also stay higher for that. That is Peter Bosz, but we don’t have him,'' Kwakman said.