Chiedozie Ogbene has warned the Republic of Ireland they must expect the Netherlands to be every bit as good as France as they head into Sunday’s do-or-die Euro 2024 qualifier in Dublin.
The 26-year-old Luton frontman and his team-mates were back on home soil on Friday, still licking their wounds after a 2-0 Group B defeat in Paris in which they were subjected to the full armoury at Didier Deschamps’ disposal.
With only three points banked from their first four games – and those from a 3-0 victory over Gibraltar – anything less than a win against the Dutch would leave their qualification hopes in tatters.
But asked if they could a least hope Ronald Koeman’s side would not be as powerful as the French, Ogbene said: “I think they will be as good.
“The Dutch have good experience in this competition. We’ll take nothing for granted. We’ll do our homework and try and get a positive result because that is what we need right now. Any sort of good result to help us control our destiny in this competition.
“Nothing is over until it is over. We like to control our destiny. If we don’t get a positive result, it is out of our hands.”
Ireland were taught a brutal lesson at the Parc des Princes by the side ranked second in the world and had to defend for dear life to stay within touching distance.
The Netherlands are only five places worse off, while Ireland sit in 53rd place in the table and the trip to Paris proved a bruising one.
However, Ogbene knows there is only so much time to reflect before minds have to focus once again.
He said: “It’s difficult for some players because everyone is emotionally engaged in this competition. We all want to qualify for Germany and do well for the nation.
“It’s not as easy as it says, just to move on to Sunday. We have to do it. We have 24 hours (for it) to sink in and let our thoughts run wild.
“After 24 hours, you have to move on because we have a big game on Sunday. If we win that, we’re back in the running.”
Manager Stephen Kenny is hoping that is exactly what happens with knives being sharpened at the prospect of the campaign effectively ending with three games to go.
For a generation of Ireland supporters, memories of a famous 1-0 World Cup qualifier win over a Dutch side which included Edwin Van Der Sar, Jaap Stam, Marc Overmars, Ruud Van Nistelrooy and Patrick Kluivert at Lansdowne Road in September 2001 remain vivid and a repeat could hardly be more timely.
Kenny said: “I was a supporter in the crowd at that game. It was an unbelievable performance all right and a great win and a famous win, of course.
“That team was a really top-class Irish team. But from our point of view, that’s what we need to do. We have got to believe that we can put in the performance that can get the result we need.”
Tedesco blames injuries after Belgium shocked by Israel
Domenico Tedesco said Belgium's lengthy injury list was to blame after they were stunned by Israel in their final Nations League group-stage game on Sunday.
Belgium were beaten 1-0 in a game played in neutral Budapest, having also lost to Italy by the same scoreline three days earlier.
Tedesco's team were already unable to finish in the top two of Group A1 and make next year's quarter-finals, and they must now face a Group B runner-up in a promotion/relegation playoff.
Belgium were hit by something of an injury crisis during this international break, which captain Kevin De Bruyne opted to skip as he recovers from a hamstring injury.
Romelu Lukaku was then among five players to withdraw from their squad on Saturday, while both Leandro Trossard and Zeno Debast were substituted with injuries on Sunday.
"Some players played 90 minutes three days ago, and tonight they were somewhat compelled to play another 90 minutes," Tedesco said afterwards, as quoted by UEFA.com.
"Overall, the lessons learned were also part of the plan; it was about getting to know many players, as we will be there in March.
"I believe we had 21 injured players in the previous qualifying stage, and today we lost Leandro Trossard and Zeno Debast to injuries.
"We had a team that had never played together, never trained together. We started well, but ultimately, under really difficult circumstances, this is not the result we hoped for, and that's why we are very disappointed."
Despite attempting 649 passes in Sunday's game, their most in a single match in this edition of the Nations League, Belgium only managed 12 shots to Israel's 10.
Their total expected goals figure of 0.91 xG, meanwhile, was only marginally higher than the 0.77 created by Israel, who saw Yarden Shua come off the bench to net an 86th-minute winner.
Despite the loss, Tedesco has seen enough to believe his team will remain in the top tier of the competition when March's playoffs roll around.
"We will remain in League A, I am sure of it, because we know how to play in such matches," he said. "This will be important; that is our goal, as is qualifying for the World Cup."
Italy win shows 'true face of the France team', says Rabiot
Adrien Rabiot believes Sunday's win over Italy showed "the true face of the France team" as they secured top spot in Nations League Group A2.
The midfielder headed home twice in their 3-1 victory, meeting excellent deliveries from Lucas Digne on both, with his second goal restoring the all-important two-goal cushion that ensured they finished above the Azzurri in the group.
This comes after France had failed to find a way past Israel in a frustrating 0-0 draw last time out.
However, Sunday's victory ensured France will be seeded in the quarter-finals draw as they seem to have put their disappointing Euro 2024 campaign, in which they won just twice as they struggled in front of goal, behind them.
Les Bleus also avenged the 3-1 defeat to Italy on home soil in the reverse fixture, something Rabiot said was playing on their minds while they prepared for their trip to San Siro.
"It's been a long time since we've played a match like this, that we haven't fought in this way all together, until the end," he told TF1.
"We also had the objective of winning with a two-goal difference, we did it. But frankly, the mutual aid that there was in this match, the combativeness, the team spirit, it's to be highlighted. Frankly, we enjoyed playing this match.
"It was a different context [Thursday]. Above all, there was a revenge to be taken compared to the previous match against Italy, who had come to win at home. It's a great evening. I hope we will continue to show this face. It's the true face of the France team."
Digne officially got two assists in the victory, but he also played a big role in France's other goal – his free-kick rattled the crossbar before bouncing in off the unfortunate Guglielmo Vicario.
In fact, France scored three goals from set-pieces in a match for the first time since 1991, when they netted three times from dead-ball situations against Albania.
"[The free-kick is] a technical gesture that is worked on in training. The more you do, the more automatic it becomes, and it pays off," Digne said.
"Offensively, it's not bad at all. As a defender, I would have preferred to finish with a clean sheet, but we can't have everything. We finished first, it's great.
"We had a revenge to take from the first leg, we wanted to show a completely different face. And in addition to our slightly worse match against Israel... We really wanted to show that this jersey is close to our hearts. The whole group was present. It was really a complete match."
France's Nations League quarter-finals will be played in March.
Israel 1-0 Belgium: Shua late show proves decisive
Relegated Israel stunned Belgium 1-0 in their final Nations League game as Yarden Shua's late goal earned them their first win in the competition this season.
The Red Devils, who were without a number of key players for the tie in Hungary, were masters of their own downfall as they gifted Israel the winner with four minutes left on the clock.
In a cagey first half, Eli Dasa breached Belgium's backline 24 minutes in and beat Koen Casteels with a crisp low effort, only to be denied by the foot of the far post.
Casteels was alert just before the break, getting down low to push Dor Peretz's low drive away from the bottom corner.
Domenico Tedesco's half-time team talk looked to have buoyed his side as they upped the pressure, with Lois Openda hitting the side netting before Johan Bakayoko forced a fingertip save out of Daniel Peretz just after the hour.
However, in their rush to find a winner, Belgium were caught playing out from the back. Dor Peretz latched onto Matte Smets' loose backpass, and though he was bundled over in the box, Shua coolly picked out the bottom corner.
Israel finish bottom of Group A2 and are automatically relegated to League B, while Belgium sit above them due to a superior goal difference in their head-to-head record –they now have a relegation play-off to overcome.
Data Debrief: Tough times for Tedesco
It has been a Nations League campaign to forget for Belgium, who managed just one win and finished with a whimper as they went winless in their final four matches (D1 L3).
They just edged the shot count in Budapest, having 12 attempts to Israel's 10, but without the likes of Romelu Lukaku and Kevin De Bruyne to call on, they lacked a clinical edge.
While Belgium struggled in attack, their defensive struggles will also be a worry for Tedesco. They failed to win any of the four games in which they fell behind in the group, earning just one point from a losing position.
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