The Little Devils remained undefeated in their qualifiers towards the European Championship, but now they know what it means to lose. Especially in the first half in Leuven was the search for the Belgians. Ajax’s talent, Brian Proby, made it difficult to defend. OHL defender Pletinckx had no story with the striker’s first goal.
And hit again shortly before the end of the first half. It was Timber who launched the attack with an invisible heel. And Robbie didn’t hesitate to finally get the head-crossing done. The striker looks ready to join the real Orange and face Belgium again. He jumps there because three players are out with injuries.
National coach Jackie Mathiesen was not satisfied after that first half and threw six new players between the lines. They switched to a 4-man defense and there was also more Grinta in the Belgian squad. Among other things, he excelled by Jeremy Duques who returned from injury.
He made it difficult for Holland with his speed and then pushed the ball in front of Deemann’s feet: 1-2. After that, Belgium stayed ahead, but there were no more goals. Belgium, for example, is heading for a new training match against France with a defeat.
Jacqui Matijsen (National Coach): “We knew Holland were a very good team and we tried that. Holland were also better, but despite that we still had X number of chances, also before the break, and we could have at least equalised.”
“Our reaction in the second half was very positive. We adjusted some things and made some substitutions. For example, there was more clarity in the substitutions in defence. The tasks were a little easier for the players, and there were fewer substitutions and substitutions to be made. That’s how we were able to compete until the end.”
“Look, you can beat San Marino 7-0, but it doesn’t do us any good. We have a lot of this match.”
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