Cody Gakpo played almost the entire game while Ryan Gravenberch and Virgil van Dijk were brought off at half-time in the Netherlands’ 1-0 loss to Algeria.
The Netherlands played their final home friendly before the World Cup on Wednesday night, hosting Algeria at Feyenoord’s De Kuip.
Van Dijk, Gravenberch and Gakpo all started as Ronald Koeman looked to bid farewell to the Dutch fans with a convincing win before flying out to the United States.
But it ended in a miserable 1-0 defeat after Anis Hadj Moussa’s goal in the 86th minute.
It was a game the Netherlands largely dominated, with 17 shots to their visitors’ eight – including six on target – but one in which they struggled to find a breakthrough.
Gakpo rated second-worst in Netherlands defeat
DORTMUND, GERMANY - Wednesday, July 10, 2024: Netherlands' Cody Gakpo during the UEFA Euro 2024 Semi-Final match between Netherlands and England at the Westfalenstadion. England won 2-1. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
Gakpo was heavily involved as the hosts pushed for an opening goal, and ended the game with the joint-most shots (four) and the most touches in the penalty area (nine).
However, as was the case throughout the season with Liverpool, the left winger struggled to make a telling impact in the final third, with AD‘s Mikos Gouka rating Gakpo a 5.5 out of 10 – the second-lowest of any player.
VI‘s Martijn Krabbendam agreed with a 5.5 rating which, of the starters, only Gravenberch and Tijjani Reijnders eclipsed with five-out-of-10 ratings.
DORTMUND, GERMANY - Wednesday, July 10, 2024: Netherlands' captain Virgil van Dijk, (L) and Cody Gakpo during the UEFA Euro 2024 Semi-Final match between Netherlands and England at the Westfalenstadion. England won 2-1. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
Koeman used the game to spread the minutes out through his squad, with no player completing the full 90 and five – including Van Dijk and Gravenberch – going off at half-time.
Gakpo played the second-most of any player, only coming off after 82 minutes, with centre-back Jan Paul van Hecke then replaced by striker Brian Brobbey in the closing stages as the Netherlands pushed for an equaliser.
Clearly it was far from ideal as a warmup to the World Cup, particularly as their send-off fixture before Koeman and his players fly to the US.
“You don’t want this in your farewell match,” Van Dijk told broadcaster NOS, per VI.
“If you look at the game, we should have been at least 2-0 up. Hopefully, the sharpness returns quickly and we finish it off from now on.
“It is positive that most players got minutes, but of course we don’t play to lose.”
The Netherlands will play Uzbekistan in their final pre-tournament friendly at the Icahn Stadium in Manhattan, New York on Monday evening.
“It is clear that we need to do much better,” Van Dijk continued. “We have another chance for that on Monday, and we need to be ready for it.”