Netherlands vs. Japan: Crysencio Summerville stars but Ronald Koeman's late changes open up Sweden selection headache

The Netherlands were held to a 2-2 draw successful their World Cup opening crippled against Japan connected Sunday evening, successful an brushwood wherever the decisive actions took spot aft the interval, with the Oranje doubly pegged back.

Captain Virgil van Dijk opened the scoring successful the 51st minute, getting connected the extremity of a Ryan Gravenberch delivery, but a Keito Nakamura onslaught six minutes aboriginal brought the Samurai Blue backmost connected level terms.

It took conscionable 7 much minutes for Crysencio Summerville to enactment the Oranje backmost successful front, successful what appeared to beryllium a connection show for the West Ham United winger, who has been linked with apical European sides including Paris Saint-Germain.

However, Summerville's brilliance yet counted for small arsenic the Netherlands conceded successful the 89th minute, with goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen failing to support retired a country that deflected successful disconnected Daichi Kamada.

While the Brighton & Hove Albion shot-stopper whitethorn instrumentality the flak for failing to woody with Japan's equaliser, manager Ronald Koeman indispensable besides enarthrosis a stock of the blasted for his substitutions.

Here, Sports Mole takes a look astatine the effect of those decisions and what they mean for the Dutch up of their 2nd radical fixture against Sweden.

Crysencio Summerville shines successful archetypal competitory outing 

Summerville made his planetary conscionable 11 days earlier the Japan game, coming successful a 1-0 affable decision against Algeria astatine Rotterdam's Stadion Feijenoord connected June 3, wherever helium started but was withdrawn astatine fractional time.

The West Ham winger’s show drew tons of criticism, adjacent raising questions implicit his inclusion into the World Cup squad, with the 24-year-old wide considered a astonishment and risky enactment by Koeman. 

However, Summerville, who scored 7 goals and registered 5 assists successful 34 appearances for the Hammers contempt their relegation from the Premier League, would request his archetypal competitory outing successful Orange to accidental what his debut could not.

The electrical winger was the Netherlands' astir dynamic attacker and the clearest quality betwixt the 2 sides' guardant lines, registering 39 touches, completing 25 of 29 passes.

It was a show that volition person done nary harm whatsoever to his marketplace value, with PSG among those to person already contacted West Ham implicit a move; the Ligue 1 champions are reportedly prepared to wage successful the portion of £43m to bring him to France.

The extremity that separated Summerville's evening from specified effectiveness and into thing genuinely peculiar arrived successful the 64th minute, with the 24-year-old receiving the shot connected the near borderline of the punishment country and curling a low, hard changeable toward the acold post. 

Ronald Koeman's costly substitutions arsenic Netherlands slip-up

Despite his awesome display, Summerville was yet substituted successful the 70th minute, alongside Donyell Malen and Tijjani Reijnders, with Memphis Depay, Teun Koopmeiners and Quinten Timber introduced successful their place.

Koeman's intent to support his pb became adjacent clearer successful the closing stages, arsenic helium turned to his seat doubly more, replacing Gravenberch — who had provided 2 assists connected the nighttime — with Nathan Ake successful the 81st minute, earlier Cody Gakpo made mode for Brian Brobbey 4 minutes later.

Ake's instauration was designed to adhd physicality and antiaircraft screen astatine the back, portion Brobbey's hold-up play and quality to bring others into the crippled were intended to supply an outlet for the Netherlands erstwhile the Samurai Blue pushed forward, though neither alteration had the desired effect.

The effect serves arsenic a sobering opening for a Netherlands broadside with genuine ambitions of finishing apical of Group F and 1 that entered the tourney arsenic a superior contender for the second stages.

Koeman's men person the accidental to enactment matters close connected matchday 2 erstwhile they look Sweden successful Houston connected June 20, though the Oranje manager volition request to not lone reconsider his substitution strategy but besides bespeak cautiously connected the enactment decisions that led to a triumph being needlessly surrendered successful Dallas.

Ronald Koeman's Sweden enactment dilemma — who starts connected matchday two?

The astir pressing question facing the Dutch manager centres connected Summerville himself, with the West Ham United winger the brightest Dutch attacker connected the transportation and taken disconnected portion the Netherlands were winning, which makes it hard to warrant reducing his relation further against Sweden.

Koeman besides has a determination to marque implicit Gakpo, with the Liverpool guardant struggling to marque an interaction successful the opening crippled and offering small successful presumption of creativity oregon antiaircraft contribution, though dropping a subordinate of his prime aft conscionable 1 lucifer would beryllium a bold move.

Malen showed flashes of committedness aboriginal connected but faded arsenic the crippled progressed, portion Depay is pushing for a starting spot done the mediate and could besides run from the near if Koeman decides to permission Gakpo out.

There is besides a question people implicit Bart Verbruggen aft helium failed to support retired a deflection disconnected Kamada that denied the Dutch triumph precocious on, with Mark Flekken disposable arsenic an alternate betwixt the posts. 

Koeman has six days and respective hard calls to marque earlier the Netherlands look Sweden successful Houston connected June 20, and the mode of this gully suggests helium cannot spend to get them wrong.