Reserves Oranje do not pass Bosnia in the last Nations League group match

• Jesse Wieten

  editor of the Dutch national team

View the summary of Bosnia and Herzegovina – Netherlands

The Dutch national team did not perform well in the last international match of the calendar year in and against Bosnia and Herzegovina: 1-1.

With the quarter-final ticket for the Nations League already in hand, there was nothing left at stake in the last group match, but the game in particular in a large part of the second half was weak and the Dutch team was also sloppy before half time.

The Netherlands finished on nine points, well behind group winner Germany, which lost points in and against Hungary (1-1) due to a late penalty from Dominik Szoboszlai.

With eleven new players compared to last Saturday against Hungary (4-0), the Dutch team started the sixteenth international match of 2024. Although there was nothing left at stake, but there was certainly something to be gained for the various players.

“If you get the chance, you have to take it,” said national coach Ronald Koeman beforehand. Joshua Zirkzee and Justin Kluivert were still in the stands in the Johan Cruijff Arena on Saturday and were now allowed to start.

Zirkzee started in a striking position, as attacking midfielder behind striker Brian Brobbey. This was partly due to the poor fitness of midfielder Quinten Timber.

For Kluivert it was his first match in the Dutch team since September 6, 2018, 2,266 days ago. Noa Lang had a starting position for the first time in seventeen months and Teun Koopmeiners was allowed to start for the first time in a year.

The sharpness did not exactly drop off in the opening phase for the Dutch team. A back pass from captain Stefan de Vrij went towards the empty own goal, but keeper Mark Flokken was just in time to clear it.

Mats Wieffer lost the ball several times, Jorrel Hato too, Zirkzee’s passes were just off target and Brobbey stumbled over the ball. On the other hand, the Netherlands also created some things, especially through Koopmeiners and Lang.

After Koopmeiners put it back, the debuting Bosnian goalkeeper Martin Zlomislic saved from a hard shot by De Vrij. Lang delivered a razor-sharp cross in the 24th minute and Brobbey finished at the far post.

Brobbey puts the Netherlands at 1-0 against Bosnia with the first goal for the Dutch team

Brobbey did not have to jump high, but he still won the header duel against Tarik Muharemovic. It was the Ajax striker’s first goal in seven international matches.

Zirkzee could also have added a goal, but after Hato was put back, the Manchester United attacker shot straight through the middle, where Muharemovic was standing. The rebound was not for Brobbey.

The Bosnians were certainly not without a chance. 38-year-old Edin Dzeko saw a goal disallowed before halftime due to offside for Amar Dedic and in the second half the veteran’s goal was disallowed again because he himself was offside.

It gave the home team more hope that a result was possible and in the 67th minute Bosnia leveled. Dzeko’s hard shot was saved, but on the rebound Ermedin Demirovic headed the ball over Flokken.

Demirovic heads Bosnia level against the Netherlands

For Bosnia, honor was mainly at stake tonight, after last week’s 7-0 defeat by Germany. If miracles could be expected anywhere, it was in the cozy but dated Bilino Polje, home of NK Celik.

Between 1995 and 2006, Bosnia remained undefeated in fifteen matches and in the following years the stadium was often an impregnable fortress for other countries. That time has already passed. Bosnia has lost its last five home matches, the last win in Zenica was over Liechtenstein in September 2023.

The Dutch team played increasingly mediocre and even seemed to lose their way after the equalizer. The Bosnians smelled blood, but there was no miracle in the turnip field.

With Ryan Gravenberch, Wout Weghorst and Cody Gakpo as substitutes, Koeman entered the final phase and a total collapse of the Dutch team did not occur. The Netherlands regained control and Bosnia realized that a draw would also provide a moral boost.