Spaan identifies the ideal spot for the Dutch national team in the World Cup group stage

According to Henk Spaan, the Netherlands do not necessarily need to finish top of their group to progress at the upcoming World Cup. A solid third place in Group F will suffice, the football pundit writes in his regular column for Het Parool.

The Oranje will face Japan, Sweden and Tunisia in the opening stages of the World Cup. The top two teams in each group qualify for the round of 16, as do the eight best third-placed teams. This is because, for the first time, 48 nations are taking part in the finals, with a total of 32 teams progressing to the second round.

“I’ve worked out that if the Netherlands finish a respectable third in Group F, Switzerland await, or Mexico or the US,” Spaan outlines a possible scenario. “If they finish second in the group, my prediction is they’ll face Brazil. If they top the group, Morocco are waiting in the wings.”

The Oranje watcher has 'a nagging suspicion that Japan is a bridge too far'. ''Unless Koeman fields powerhouses like J. Timber and De Ligt at the back and makes use of the height of Van Dijk, Emegha and Gakpo. As a team, Japan are better; we are taller.''

In Spaan’s view, a slow start to the World Cup need not be disastrous for the Dutch national team. “Compare it to Italy ’82: three draws. When Brazil came along, they were running like clockwork,” he says, referring to the Italian team’s eventual World Cup title.

“I have a disclaimer regarding this analysis: although I got top marks for mental arithmetic and maths at primary school, that aptitude had evaporated so completely by the time I reached sixth form that after four years of grammar school, I ended up in HBS A, without maths,” Spaan concludes his contribution.

The Netherlands reached the quarter-finals at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. After a thriller that included a penalty shoot-out, they lost to eventual world champions Argentina.

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