Morocco’s midfield dominance sparks backlash against De Jong and Koeman

Frenkie de Jong has come under intense criticism in the Netherlands following the Dutch side’s World Cup exit to Morocco, with former internationals questioning both his performance and the tactical decisions made against the Atlas Lions.

The Barcelona midfielder had entered the knockout clash as one of the key figures in Ronald Koeman’s squad, but the Netherlands’ elimination at the hands of Morocco quickly shifted attention towards De Jong and the Dutch midfield display.

Just days earlier, De Jong had defended his performances during the tournament, saying after the Netherlands’ 5-1 victory over Sweden on 21 June: “I have a feeling that many people don’t understand anything about football. They watch it, but they don’t understand it, so to speak, and that’s not a bad thing, because it gives everyone a chance to talk about it, but it’s the truth.”

Following the defeat to Morocco, however, criticism from former Dutch players was swift and severe.

Van der Vaart questions Dutch tactics

Former Netherlands midfielder Rafael van der Vaart did not hide his frustration while speaking to NOS after the match.

“Frenkie de Jong played the worst game I have ever seen him play,” said the former Real Madrid and Ajax player.

Van der Vaart also criticised Koeman’s tactical approach against Morocco, particularly the decision to operate with only two midfielders against a side renowned for its strength in central areas.

“It was really disappointing, but that also goes back to the plan,” he said.

“I believe Morocco’s strength lies in their midfield, yet we decided to play against them with only two midfielders.”

He added: “We qualified from the group stage well, things started to improve, so what was going through your minds to suddenly change your style of play completely against Morocco? I don’t understand that at all.”

Morocco praised for midfield control

Former Ajax and Netherlands striker Jan Mulder also questioned De Jong’s impact during the game.

“I only saw sideways passes from him, I misjudged him,” Mulder told NOS.

Former Barcelona and Netherlands winger Ibrahim Afellay also suggested Morocco had won the decisive battle in midfield, saying: “a match like this is decided from the midfield, and Morocco decided it.”

Despite the criticism after the defeat, De Jong’s performances earlier in the tournament had been supported by strong statistics.

According to figures published by “Volksstrand” using “Stats Performance” data from matches against Japan, Sweden and Tunisia, De Jong ranked among the tournament’s leading midfielders for progressive play.

The Dutch midfielder completed 38 forward passes, a figure only surpassed by Portugal’s Vitinha and Senegal’s Idrissa Gueye, while his 40 forward carries were bettered only by Spain’s Rodri and Vitinha.

Football International also reported that the Netherlands scored more than half a goal per game more with De Jong in the team than when he was absent.

But against Morocco, the Dutch midfield struggled to impose itself as the Atlas Lions secured another major World Cup result to continue Africa’s impressive run at the tournament.