Kieft is quite concerned about one area of the Dutch national team | Goal.com
In the run-up to the World Cup, Wim Kieft looks on France with great admiration. The De Telegraaf columnist sees a significant difference between the French team’s attack and that of the Dutch national side.
Kieft is a fan of Paris Saint-Germain’s attacking style. “You can see that extra quality in the French national team too. Alongside Dembélé and Doué, you also have Kylian Mbappé and Hugo Ekitike as strikers,” says the former striker, listing a few big names.
The analyst from Haarlem immediately brings the Oranje into the discussion: “If you compare that with the forwards in our national team, you have to hope that everyone is in peak condition at the World Cup to stand a chance against the sheer power of that sort of attacker.”
“With Cody Gakpo, we have a reliable option on the left, but compared to the top nations, we’re rather short on pure quality up front,” says Kieft, expressing his concerns about the Dutch national team, just over two months before the start of the World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Kieft wonders above all whether Donyell Malen can make the difference at international level this summer. “He’s doing well in the Italian league, but that’s about all there is to say about him in that country at the moment.”
By this, the football pundit is referring to the dramatic failure of the team led by the now-resigned Gennaro Gattuso to qualify for the World Cup. “Italy has produced some fantastic players. Alessandro Del Piero, Gianluca Vialli, Roberto Baggio, Roberto Mancini – you could name so many. Now there is a generation lacking in major talents.”
In Kieft’s view, clubs such as AC Milan and Juventus have spent too much money on foreign players. “They only bought big names, and that was at the expense of their own youth. Now that there has been an exodus of top players to England and Spain, people are realising they’ve missed the boat.”
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