In terms of possession, the Dutch only marginally bettered fellow World Cup participants Ghana in their previous friendly; Netherlands had 51 percent possession compared to Ghana’s 49 percent. Louis Van Gaal enjoys playing a possession based game; this statistic perhaps did not impress him.
However, on the other hand, a different statistic might have impressed the successor of David Moyes at Manchester United; the Dutch took 12 shots compared to Ghana’s five, five of which were on target.
A clean sheet is also good news for the Dutch coach; his Bayern team was notorious for compensating defensive errors by scoring goals, errors which Van Gaal did not want to rectify. Van Gaal’s scorer on the day was Robin Van Persie; he struck within five minutes of the start. The goal was magnificently worked.
Wesley Sneijder, considered a spent force by some, played a quick one-two with Arjen Robben; Robben’s return pass split the Ghana defense. It allowed Sneijder to collect the ball close to goal and square it to Van Persie. Van Persie, between four opposition players, found his footing and scored.
Netherland’s formation on the day could be considered a 5-3-2- or a 3-5-2. Van Gaal is a man who likes to experiment; he also knows how to set up a team according to the players he has at his disposal. The formation was designed to allow Sneijder to be the center piece on the day. Everything flowed through the former Inter midfielder in attack.
Against Wales, the lineup could be a similar one to promote understanding between the players prior to the World Cup. Wales will be coming into this one without the star of the side, Gareth Bale, and Jack Collison. Their most recent friendly was a 3-1 win over Iceland.
Can the Dutch continue winning ahead of kickoff in Brazil?
Where to watch the match: Live Streams, Live Scores, Start Times, TV Channels:
Watch Netherlands vs Wales live on Wednesday, June 4, 2014:
In the UK at 19:30 BST on BBC Two Wales, S4C Red Button, S4C Digidol
In the USA at 14:30 ET on ESPN3, ESPN Deportes
Viewers in Netherlands can tune into SBS 6 to watch the match.
For the complete TV listings and live scores upon kick-off, visit the Netherlands-Wales match page.
