Time for Guus Til? Likely lineup against Sweden | “He has more feeling for Oranje than Memphis”
1 min readThe Netherlands national team will play Saturday evening at 7 p.m. Dutch time the second group match of the 2026 World Cup in Houston. Ronald Koeman’s squad will take on Sweden, which managed to win its first group match 5-1 against Tunisia.
Netherlands, on the other hand, went behind 2-2 in the 88th minute and thus gave Oranje a not-too-great start to the global finals tournament. After the match, Koeman's substitutions were also heavily criticized. He works harder than Memphis, he has more of a feel for Oranje than Memphis, and simply just does a better job of trying. Guus Til has no desire to show the nation how he can skillfully control a ball with his 'wrong' foot. Flicks to the back and dropping into the midfield specifically to make sure it shows he can play make-the-game, is also not what moves Guus Til.
But Memphis is moving nonetheless. The Netherlands is tired of Memphis—and rightly so. There is also the call from the country to switch from 4-3-3 to 5-3-2 or 3-5-2. Despite this, it still seems that the national team coach will stick with 4-3-3 even against Sweden.
Just as against Japan, Koeman will start with goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen in goal. The rest of the defense will consist of Denzel Dumfries and Micky van de Ven as full-back defenders, while the center of the defense again seems to be formed by Jan Paul van Hecke and Virgil van Dijk.
Even in midfield, despite the call from the supporters, it seems nothing will change. This means that Frenkie de Jong, Ryan Gravenberch and Tijani Reijnders will once again be the trio in midfield and that there is therefore no starting spot for Guus Til or Justin Kluivert.
In addition, the front line also appears to consist of the same three players as against Japan. This means that Donyell Malen will start as a striker and will be assisted from the flanks by Cody Gakpo on the left and Crysencio Summerville, responsible for the 2-1 against the Japanese, on the right.
Estimated starting lineup: Verbruggen; Dumfries, Van Hecke, Van Dijk, Van de Ven; De Jong, Gravenberch, Reijnders; Summerville, Malen, Gakpo.
Comments4
Koeman start weer met hetzelfde middenveld, dus Til en Kluivert weer op de bank. In 5-3-2 maak je Tuurlijk meer zekerheid, maar als je toch 4-3-3 speelt snap ik niet waarom de oproep van de tribunes wordt genegeerd. Verbruggen, Dumfries, Van Dijk en Van Hecke lijkt me ok, maar die opstelling mist tempo.
Guus Til "meer gevoel voor Oranje dan Memphis" klinkt leuk, maar als we tegen Zweden op 4-3-3 blijven gokken dan is dat vooral een hoop woorden. Memphis-moe is echt logisch tbh... ik wil eindelijk een plan dat voetbal oplevert, niet alleen kritiek.
"Hij heeft meer gevoel voor Oranje dan Memphis" is funny because Memphis actually showed fight. Imo against Sweden you need intensity + height, Til could bring that movement even if his first touch is 'wrong'... thats still football.
If Koeman keeps 4-3-3 again, Guus Til is still basically on the bench for vibes. Memphis-moe klinkt eerlijk, maar Til for control in midfield makes more sense than just hoping the same XI clicks.