Ronald Koeman has recently announced his provisional squad of 30 (with four to be cut) for Euro 2024 and at least on paper, this is one quality lineup.

With this star power, however, comes added external pressure but Koeman has the promise of his 2022 FIFA World Cup campaign on his side to suggest his young side’s potential can be fulfilled.

Only narrowly losing out to eventual world champions Argentina on penalties, the Dutch applied real grit throughout Qatar 2022, on top of their well-renowned technical qualities.

This was pleasing to see for the Dutch people as they have lacked in this area in the past, demonstrating a page that had turned in this team’s development.

‘Underperforming’ and ‘inconsistent’ would be what you describe Dutch performances at European competitions in the past with the Oranje only making it as far as the quarterfinal in their last four Euros.

Now equipped with arguably the most talented and in-form Dutch squad in years, Koeman needs to address three major questions which could be the difference between the Oranje going home in the group stages or being where they should be amongst European heavyweights.

How is Koeman going to work around not having a prolific natural centre forward?

Despite possessing a plethora of attacking talent, the Dutch have never really found a proper replacement for national legend Robin Van Persie. Wout Weghorst provided important cameos in the World Cup with two goals but if you were being honest with yourself, you wouldn’t expect the same output from him this coming Euros.

The only notable other name that could fill the role is Athletico’s Memphis Depay who has been down from his usual output, only scoring ten goals in all competitions this year. The issue with Depay is that he’s like a flash in the pan, when he’s on, he’s a world beater but when he’s not he’s a passenger. This inconsistency would keep Koeman up at night as you cannot depend on an inconsistent player to lead your forward line throughout a major competition such as Euro 2024.

Cody Gakpo is another name thrown into the mix but it’s clear from his time with Liverpool and the national team already that Gakpo’s skillset is much more suited to a wider role, which the Dutch already have an abundance of options including the likes of Leverkusen’s Jeremie Frimpong, Dortmund’s Donyell Malen, Leipzig’s Xavi Simons and Ajax pair Brian Brobbey and Steven Bergwijn.

Therefore, the former Barcelona manager may have to adopt a more fluid system up front to pose any real attacking threat, relying on the smaller technical players, or his only other option is to pray Depay has a lively campaign aided by small cameos from the aging Weghorst.

How do you get the best out of Frenkie De Jong?

If you asked me who I thought the most important player for the Dutch is, my answer would be Frenkie De Jong.

Despite a 23/24 campaign riddled with injury which only saw the midfielder play 20 matches for Barcelona, a fit De Jong for the first match vs Poland will set the tone for this exciting Dutch side.

De Jong’s fitness isn’t the only concern for Koeman as in the past, teams have successfully negated De Jong’s influence leading to the whole team not operating as well.

Throughout the 2022 World Cup campaign, it was clear teams like Senegal and Ecuador targeted and negated the midfielder’s influence resulting in games being tougher than they should’ve been, including a 1-1 draw against Ecuador.

If Koeman can tweak his tactics to allow De Jong more freedom to pick up the ball from the centre halves and drive through the midfield, or dictate the play with precise passing, the Dutch will go a long way to, not only getting out of a tough group, but even potentially progressing through the knockout stages which they have found difficult to do in the past.

Why does the backline, even with big names, keep leaking goals?

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— OnsOranje (@OnsOranje) May 29, 2024

On paper, the Netherlands have arguably one of the strongest backlines for any nation at the Euros. Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk, Manchester City’s Nathan Ake, and Bayern Munich’s Matthijs de Ligt, just to name a few, make up a star-studded defensive lineup. As a result, you really would think the defensive side of the game for Koeman’s side would be a massive strength.

Despite possessing these quality defenders, for their last 14 matches, the Dutch have conceded a concerning 12 goals. What that comes down to, I doubt even Ronald Koeman knows. Tactical or motivational, whatever it is, Koeman needs to sort this out if this Dutch squad has any chance of making history.

In a group with France and Austria as major threats, if Memphis Depay cannot find his form in front of the goal or De Jong is neglected in the time and space that makes him so important, the leaders in the backline Van Dijk and Ake have to stand up and guide this Dutch side, which undoubtedly has the quality to make a run deep in Euro 2024.