Netherlands head coach Ronald Koeman provided a worrying response when asked to give his verdict on the performance of Manchester United striker Joshua Zirkzee on Tuesday night.
Oranje were held to a frustrating 1-1 draw by Bosnia and Herzegovina at the Bilino Polje Stadium in Zenica.
Although the outcome of the Nations League contest had no bearing on the standings or the Dutch team’s progression to the next stage of the Nations League competition, with Germany comfortably leading Group A3, Koeman and his players were undoubtedly eager to claim maximum points and end the international break on a high note.
The Netherlands’ goal was scored by Ajax’s Brian Brobbey, who was deployed slightly ahead of Zirkzee. Ermedin Demirovic would go on to store parity in the 67th minute, to ensure the spoils were shared between the two sides.
While Matthijs de Ligt enjoyed a good night at the heart of his side’s defence, the same can’t be said of Zirkzee.
The former Bologna man has struggled at United since he signed for the club in the summer and it appears this form has continued onto the international stage.
Zirkzee lost two of the ground duels he contested, lost possession of the ball eight times and was unable to successfully connect with the one long ball attempt he made.
The highlight of his poor performance was his big miss just before the break, which could have put the Netherlands firmly in the driving seat of proceedings.
After the match, Koeman was asked to give his opinion on Zirkzee’s display.
Koeman replied [via Metro], “My thoughts on Zirkzee’s performance? I am not going to talk about individual player performances.”
He instead decided to blame the disappointing result on the quality of the pitch.
“The pitch was very difficult to play on, many players slipped. But despite this, we controlled the game quite well until the last half an hour.”
All attention for Zirkzee and his teammates now shifts to Sunday’s clash against Ipswich Town at Portman Road. It will be Ruben Amorim’s first match as United boss and for many players like Zirkee, it represents a chance to start afresh and show why United forked out big money for him in the summer.
Feature image Srdjan Stevanovic via Getty Images
Derick Kinoti
Derick Kinoti is a football writer at The Peoples Person who has covered Manchester United and the game extensively for many years. He is a keen analyst with expertise in SEO and journalism standards. Derick is convinced Wayne Rooney is the true GOAT and won’t hear otherwise!
