Netherlands cannot produce a good striker anymore – and that is a big problem

Days of unrestricted Dutch offensive football seems like a thing of the past, and the team’s prospects of qualifying for Euro 2024 seem bleak.

Netherlands cannot produce a good striker anymore – and that is a big problem
Memphis Depay’s form for the Netherlands is a big talking point CREDIT: Getty Images/Luciano Lima

World-class strikers and smooth play come to mind when you think back on the great Netherlands teams of the past.

 

From Robin van Persie to Patrick Kluivert, and from the renowned Johan Cruyff to Marco van Basten.

 

Not just those of us who grew up loving Dutch football and marveling at how a small European country could consistently produce so many excellent attackers.

 

It’s also the Dutch. For this reason, the nation finds it difficult to adore Ronald Koeman’s 2024 vintage.

 

The Netherlands’ trip to Germany is merely an outside wager to advance to the further stages.

 

The public and media are both in a generally negative mood, with a quarter-final exit being the most likely outcome—just like it used to be for England.

 

A large portion of that can be attributed to the attack’s lack of potency, where Wout Weghorst, a former Manchester United loanee who currently plays for Burnley, is wrongly criticized as a sign of deterioration.

The 31-year-old, who played on loan at Hoffenheim the previous season, has scored a number of significant goals for his nation, most notably in their close loss to eventual World Cup champions Argentina in the 2022 quarterfinals.

 

In addition, he scored in a convincing 4-0 thumping of Canada in a pre-tournament friendly.

 

This victory over the Republic of Ireland guaranteed qualifying for the tournament.

 

However, Weghorst is not your average Dutch striker in the traditional sense of the term; Brian Brobbey, a young player at Ajax, is his major rival.

 

Memphis Depay, a 30-year-old former Manchester United player, is another highly anticipated player, although he has suffered from injuries during the season and was just let go by Atletico Madrid.

 

Leave a Comment