Ad De Mos believes that things are going well for the Netherlands and sees good opportunities for them. He also believes that the atmosphere between the Belgians is ideal. There is not much buzz within the player group regarding the absence of Thibaut Courtois.
For the Dutch national team, former Anderlecht goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen is in goal. “I really like him very much. Verbruggen has personality. He is relatively unknown in the Netherlands, like many of the other boys. But that is certainly not a flaw. You need those new, fresh faces that you want to show,” he says. HLN.
“The Belgians have the same thing. I watched some of their matches and I think they are strong. Your attacking line is excellent. Doku, De Bruyne, Lukaku… Then you have Trossard and Bakayoko.”
“With Onana and Mangala, you have a good block behind them. The defense is lower and it’s a shame Courtois isn’t there, but as I see it, Belgium belongs in the pack of Germany, England, Netherlands and Portugal, just below the pecking order. France is a big favourite.”
The fact that Courtois is not there only seems to bother the outside world. “He is a good goalkeeper, but Domenico Tedesco makes a good, calm impression for me. He is not afraid to accept the consequences of the decision and sticks to it.”
“There was a lot of noise about Courtois passing, but I don’t have the feeling that the group was against it. I don’t see Lukaku or De Bruyne being worried about it. For example, the Dutch players were openly disappointed.” “With Frenkie’s absence, you don’t hear the Belgian talking about Courtois, and besides, Castiles is just a good goalkeeper.”
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