Meet the Teams: Holland

James Hanley

James Hanley is a two-bit college professor who'd rather be canoeing.

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19 Responses

  1. Burt Likko says:

    I think you’re overly pessimistic about the match with Chile. The very fluid style that earned the Orange so many accolades in the last World Cup is still there, and Sneijder understands how to direct that sort of traffic. It’s confusing for a more traditional sort of defense to deal with.Report

    • James Hanley in reply to Burt Likko says:

      I hope you’re right, @burt-likko, but 538 doesn’t think so. They give Chile a 70% chance of advancing, and a 4% chance of winning, and the Dutch a 44% chance of advancing and <1% chance of winning. and their win-lose-draw odds for Chile in their game with the Netherlands are 48%-26%-27%.

      I don't think it's by any means impossible, and it wouldn't be a major upset. But if I was laying money down, I'd go with Chile.Report

      • Don’t know why you’d even read 538’s World Cup coverage. Their SPI metric is smoke and mirrors of the worst variety.Report

      • And now it’s ESP 1:4 NED with a second goal from Van Persie.

        Still feeling pessimistic about Chile? If this Netherlands team keeps on performing this aggressively, the Oranje could easily run the table in the first stage.Report

      • James Hanley in reply to James Hanley says:

        Don’t know what you’re talking about, counsellor, it’s 5-1 now. 😉

        Yes, the Hanley-DeBoer household hopes this play carries on.Report

      • Given the goal differential, and next game against Australia, it’s fair to say the Oranje are in the catbird seat right now. Nothing’s certain, but … Wow. what an upset.Report

      • James Hanley in reply to James Hanley says:

        Yes, that’s one for the ages. It would have been a great upset even absent it being an opening round rematch of the previous Cup’s final, but that just gives it such a great background.

        So what are the Chileans thinking now? That they’ve got a better chance against Spain than they thought, or that the Dutch game is going to be even tougher than they thought? Are their chances of making the next round higher or lower?Report

      • If I’m Jorge Sampaoli I’m thinking I’m going to make Spain my bitch because the Dutch just showed me how to do it, and with wins over Australia and Spain, Chile is moving on too.

        But I’m also thinking I still have to go all-in against the suddenly-fearsome Oranje, because if Chile and Netherlands are both at 2-0-0 going in to the last match, the loser of that game is all but certain to get Brazil next.

        Of course, that all assumes that Australia is an “easy” win. Given the strength of the group, the Aussies are not likely to be anything but spoilers, but you don’t want to be the team that gets spoiled by Australia.Report

  2. Nob Akimoto says:

    …wait, how can you talk about the history of the Oranje without bringing up Cruyff?Report

  3. Sadly, I must agree with your prediction. They’re overall a much younger side than the team they brought four years ago, and while their attack still centers on Van Persie, Robben, and Sneijder, those three may now be slightly past their prime. The change in the caliber of club teams represented on the Dutch side shows the decline – in 2010, they had 9 players on their roster from top-five English, Spanish, German, or Italian clubs, plus several others playing with solid clubs like Hamburg or Everton. Now, they’ve only got three such players, and that’s only if you still consider Man U a top-5 English side despite its failure to qualify for Europe at all this year. The majority of their roster this time around is from Ajax, PSV and Feyenoord, all top Dutch teams, but none of which were able to make a significant impact in Europe this year.

    Combine that with the fact that Dutch players just about always have a hard time getting along with each other, and I think you have to say that Chile should be favored over them.Report

  4. Burt Likko says:

    Just saw the lineup for ESP : NED, starting in just a few hours. Your Oranje will be playing Cillessen, Vlaar, De Vrij, Martins Indi, Blind, De Jong, Janmaat, De Guzman, Van Persie, Sneijder, and Robben. Came up on the webcast of El Tri on its way to besting the Indomitable Lions (Cameroon has one of the coolest team nicknames going).

    Spain is to be respected and I’m not unrealistic about the strength of that side. But both as an Italy fan and in sympathy for you, I’ll be pulling for the Dutch.Report

  5. James Hanley says:

    Wow, what a goal!Report

    • Way to use your head, Van Persie!

      I saw most of the first half of play at a sports bar just now. Sadly I must return to work.

      Spain’s players are flop artists! Especially Alonso, who drew that penalty kick on what sure looked to me like incidental contact. Bad call if you ask me, although the announcers thought it was righteous. So I think it ought to be ESP 0 : 1 NED right now.

      As it is, the teams look well matched — Spain does seem to have good ball control skills and is playing pretty defensively, doing a lot of keep-away. When the Oranje get the ball, they take chances and are aggressive. I notice some swarming that more often than not is diversionary.

      Also, Professor, you’ll be glad to know that when Spain scored, applause was healthy, but the whole bar roared at Van Persie’s header. Including most the guys and girls in Mexico kits sobering up from this morning’s match.Report