The Netherlands drew 2-2 with Japan in its World Cup opener and faces Sweden tonight, as coach Ronald Koeman tries to reshape the team’s identity. The article argues that this Dutch side is no longer built around the classic image of elegant playmakers like Johan Cruyff, Marco van Basten, Wesley Sneijder, Robin van Persie, or Rafael van der Vaart, but around structure, pressure, and collective running.
That shift is visible in personnel. Frenkie de Jong and Cody Gakpo started against Japan despite coming off poor seasons, Memphis Depay is now a bench player, and the team’s best player may be center back Virgil van Dijk. There are no current Dutch stars of the old mold, and the national team has arrived at the tournament without a single player from the domestic league, for the first time in its history.
Ryan Gravenberch has become the symbol of the new approach. After struggling for a fixed role under Thomas Tuchel and Jürgen Klopp, he was vital in Arne Slot’s title-winning Liverpool side last season and this year added three league assists. Against Japan, he recorded two assists, the first Liverpool player ever to do that in a World Cup match, a feat not even Steven Gerrard, Sadio Mané or Philippe Coutinho achieved. He also ran 8.2 kilometers in 81 minutes, about 9.1 kilometers per 90, and helped on both sides of the ball.
The piece says the Dutch style is now closer to modern pressing teams such as Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal, where movement off the ball matters more than a single playmaker. Gravenberch, Donyell Malen, Chriscyencio Summerville, Denzel Dumfries and Tijjani Reijnders all attack space rather than waiting for the ball. The Netherlands still showed some old fragility against Japan, conceding a late goal by Daichi Kamada after Gravenberch had been substituted, and only a sharper finish would have given them three points. But with a win over Sweden, they can strengthen their chances of finishing in the top two and continue a possible run toward their first major title since 1988.
