The Netherlands beat Group F opponents Sweden 5-1 in one of their best-ever FIFA World Cup performances. Frenkie de Jong, who was questionable to play with a minor knee injury, played 59 minutes and ended with the most completed passes into the final third (11/11) and recoveries (7) than any other player.
De Jong is often the target of critics who say he only passes sideways or backwards and offers little to nothing in the Netherlands' attacking play.
Speaking to Dutch football talk show Vandaag Inside, De Jong firmly hit back at critics.
"I get the feeling… A lot of people don’t really understand football at all. They watch it, but they don’t see it," De Jong said.
"It doesn’t matter; anyone can talk about it. I think my role is very clear. It might be difficult to explain to some people, though. I think I’ll just have to sit next to them sometime."
Netherlands captain Virgil van Dijk complimented De Jong after the Sweden win, calling the Barcelona star "one of the best midfielders in the world." De Jong appreciated the comment and took it as an example to the Netherlands fans.
"I think that, in the Netherlands, we could generally show more appreciation for the players. Of course, you can criticise someone if you think they’re not playing well. I’ve got no problem with that at all. But it often goes too far. It feels to me as though everyone just wants to shout something out there just to get themselves noticed."
The Netherlands conclude their group-stage campaign on Thursday, June 25th (Friday, June 26th, at 01.00 CEST) against Tunisia, whom they'll face at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, MO.
FIFA World Cup 2026
The 2026 World Cup is taking place from June 11th to July 19th in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The tournament features 48 national teams and is played at 16 modern stadiums.
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