Ronald Koeman hails Memphis Depay's progress on Netherlands return | OneFootball

Forward Memphis Depay returned to action for the Netherlands national team last Sunday (14) in a 2-2 draw against Japan, in the opening round of the World Cup group stage. The Corinthians player started on the bench, but came on in the second half and took part in the attacking moves of Ronald Koeman’s team.

Wearing the No. 10 shirt, he was brought on in the 24th minute of the second half, replacing Malen. During his time on the field, Memphis helped the Netherlands try to regain control of the match, at a time when Japan were pressing and making it difficult for the Europeans to play out from the back.

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After the match, in an interview with TNT Sports, Ronald Koeman commented on the Corinthians forward’s performance and said that Memphis is getting closer to the level expected by the Dutch national team’s coaching staff.

“Memphis is reaching the level we want from him. Naturally, you put him on because the team was dropping deeper and deeper. We could hardly play our way out at all. So with Koopmeiners and Memphis, you try to keep the ball better. And that didn’t work completely, because even on our left side we were beaten a few times, which ended up creating dangerous situations. That’s football,” the coach began.

The coach explained that Memphis’ introduction came at a moment when the Netherlands needed to improve their ability to keep possession and find attacking alternatives against the opponent’s pressure.

The match marked the Corinthians forward’s return to duty with the Dutch national team after a period away from the side. Memphis remains one of the Netherlands’ main attacking references and is looking to regain his place in the squad during the buildup to the rest of the competition.

With the draw against Japan, the Netherlands will return to action on June 20 against Sweden at 2 p.m. (Brasília time) at NRG Stadium in Houston. Their final group-stage match will be against Tunisia on June 25 at 8 p.m. at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.