Ibrahim Afellay makes a prediction for a possible match between the Netherlands and Morocco
1 min readAfter half a season as an assistant coach at PSV, Ibrahim Afellay will serve as a football analyst for the NOS during the World Cup. Afellay saw Morocco beat the eliminated Haiti on Thursday night in an entertaining match, winning 4-2.
At the same time, Brazil won 0-3 against Scotland and thereby the Brazilians qualified first in Group C, followed by Morocco with the same number of points, but a lower goal difference. This creates a chance that the Atlas Lions will play the upcoming match against the Netherlands.
According to Afellay, however, the selection made by national team coach Ronald Koeman does not need to worry about a possible match with Morocco. ''No, absolutely not,'' said the former PSV player after the match between Morocco and Haiti on NOS.
''I found Morocco playing quite poorly in the second half, although of course there have been four changes'', continues the former Netherlands international, who was active at the 2010 World Cup.
According to Afellay, the Netherlands would benefit from the mistakes Morocco made against Haiti. ''If you look at the way Morocco repeatedly loses possession of the ball, against better opponents you simply get slaughtered. You bring opponents into the match by losing the ball unnecessarily, in places where you are not allowed to lose it'', the former PSV player thinks.
Afellay is also clear about Oranje's qualities. ''You lose the ball in places you can't afford against better teams. And the Netherlands is simply a very good team, with so much speed up front. They won't let this go to waste'', the analyst said.
Comments8
Call it nitpicking, but if the article is right about the lack of goals from the box, thats on the final decision, not only chance creation. Give us one touch faster and we are cooking ⚽🚀
"We need more speed in transition" yeah well then start the game like it. Stop making it look like PSV is waiting for permission to attack, thats when we get punished 👀
I like the intent in the article, but I think PSV will struggle without sharper buildup under pressure. The choice to prioritize width is smart, yet you have to connect it to faster combinations in the half-spaces, otherwise it becomes predictable.
🔥🔥🔥 Wie denkt PSV dat ze weer gaan domineren met dit opstelling idee? als de nr.10 niet tussen linies durft te komen, dan is het vooral hope-ball.
I like the idea behind the setup, but the timing of the runs from the wingers looked off last match. Play it quicker into the half-spaces or we will get stuck out wide again.
tbh im worried about how often we lose the second ball in the middle. if that stat in the article is true, then we need faster recovery runs, otherwise teams will counter us all day 💀
tbh im still not convinced by how PSV control games when the press comes early. if the fullbacks dont step up as a pair, teams will just play in behind and we concede on the transition. imo we need that first-pass quality in midfield again, otherwise it feels like we rely on individual moments too much.
If PSV can keep that pressing intensity without leaving spaces behind the fullbacks, thats the whole game right there 🔥. I hope the midfield stays aggressive instead of sitting too deep.