Although he is not in talks with team manager Louis van Gaal, Wesley Sneijder regards Daley Blind as a risk in the Orange’s left defender position. Nonetheless, the analyst would draw the Ajax player. He is sceptical of the Orange’s chances.
Sneijder revealed on Friday evening in Veronica Offside that he would not start Nathan Aké as the left back. “I’d prefer to see Blind there. If you do set him up, put him next to Van Dijk so he can take care of the build-up with Berghuis and De Jong.”
Tyrell Malacia should start in the opinion of Sneijder
Tyrell Malacia, in Sneijder’s opinion, should be the left back. “With his conversion, he seems to have a lot more capacity on the left to be involved in both the front and the back.”
Wim Kieft, another expert, would play Blind as a left back. “I believe he can also contribute to the build-up on the left, as he has demonstrated increasingly frequently. There is very little defensive quality in Orange’s midfield. But we’ll only have possession of the ball in the group games…?”
This, according to Wesley Sneijder, is precisely the issue. “The switch is the hazard of the Orange, as well as Ajax. As a result, let Blind play in the ashes, because it might be perilous on the side. We don’t play against farmers, and everyone speaks negatively of Senegal. They also understand that the Netherlands’ weakness is in transition. If I were the national team coach, I would like Blind to play left back.”
Finally, Sneijder is careful with the Orange. Allusions to a world title, he believes, go too far. “We must also exercise caution!’ That group, that’s a cakewalk, and we’ll conquer it, I hear all those things around me. Simply go first through it. That (Van Gaal’s words about the world title) confuses me. I hope we go far, but the next game is all that matters. This also inspires all of the opponents. ‘Remain calm and grow during the event.”
