In an exclusive interview with Flashscore, former Ajax and Manchester United player Daley Blind discussed the heartbreaking exits he suffered with the Netherlands at the 2014 and 2022 World Cups, and gave his thoughts on his nation’s chances at this year’s edition of the tournament.
Blind played in every game for the Netherlands at both the 2014 and 2022 World Cups, getting two goals and four assists across the two tournaments.
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They both ended in the exact same way for the defender and his nation, with Argentina beating them on penalties in the semi-finals in Brazil and in the quarter-finals in Qatar. Containing a stunning late Netherlands equaliser, fiery clashes and controversial refereeing decisions, the match in 2022 went down as a World Cup classic.
Four years on, the 36-year-old will be watching from the sidelines as Oranje look to finally become world champions.
Daley, let’s speak about the World Cup. The Netherlands are often the dark horse in the tournaments, not always a very top favourite, but always dangerous. How do you compare them to Brazil, PortugalArgentina, or France? Do you believe that the Netherlands can win the World Cup?
“Yes. As a Dutch player going into the World Cup, you always believe you can win. Otherwise, you don’t need to go there. You don’t go there just to play games; you go there to compete and try to win it.
“I think a lot of players of the national team now are playing in the top leagues, playing for big clubs, so I think it’s a very great squad on balance, and everyone has a chance.
“I think many countries don’t like to play against the Netherlands, so let’s see. I’m very curious, and I will follow it with a lot of interest.”
Let’s go back four years ago to the crazy game against Argentina. How do you remember it?
“I think it was a very interesting match. Some crazy things happened during that match which will never be forgotten. I think there were really moments (that we could) discuss a lot, but I will stay away from that…
“It’s really sad, because I lost to Argentina on penalties twice in the World Cup, so I didn’t really lose the game. Penalties are like a lottery; you can win or lose it. Going out of the World Cup twice on penalties is a bad feeling… Sometimes you think you would rather lose 3-0 because then you just don’t have a chance, but we had a chance every time. We had big chances in the match as well, and losing on penalties is painful.
“Every time we played the World Cup, I was thinking something special could happen if we could have won with penalties, but you never know. It is what it is. It’s a gamble, and it was a great experience to be able to play in the World Cup, and this particular match was a crazy one.”
How would you describe Ronald Koeman as a manager, as a coach?
“I think he’s a good coach. He proved with different clubs already, earlier in his career.
“He’s always been really honest with me about his plans, and about what he expected from me and what he expects from players, so I’ve always had good experiences with Koeman.”
In terms of leadership, how important is Virgil van Dijk for this team?
“I think in the national team now, there are a lot of players who are very important.
“Virgil is, of course, one of them. He is a big leader, for many years for Liverpool and of course also for the national team, but I think there are leaders in every part of the Netherlands team – you have Frenkie de Jongwho’s maybe a bit quieter but really a leader; Memphis Depay can be a leader up front. So in every area, you have players who are very important.
“It’s a team that I think a lot of countries would not like to play against, and I hope they do well, and I’m really curious to see that.”
Follow the Netherlands’ opening clash of the World Cup with Flashscore.
