Frenkie De Jong claims he was "sloppy" in an "average" Netherlands performance despite their World Cup win.
The Dutch begun their tournament with three points against Senegal, who were tipped to rival them for top spot in the group. Cody Gakpo opened the scoring late on after what was a less than thrilling encounter that lacked quality. Davy Klaassen made the game safe late on.
Louis van Gaal's side are back at a World Cup for the first time in eight years having missed out in 2018. The Netherlands are not the force of old and De Jong, who will have to perform if his country are to make an impression in Qatar, claimed he and his side were below par.
He confessed after the game: "We were average. We didn't play good. But we also didn't give any chances away. I think my own game was sloppy." De Jong played alongside Steven Berghuis in the middle of the pitch as Van Gaal employed a 3-4-3 formation.
The former Manchester United boss admits his side were lacklustre in possession but was confident they would come through in their opening game. He said: “Was it an efficient victory? Of course it was. Listen to me, we played with poor ball possession in the first half but nonetheless we created five chances.
"It was more balanced in the second half. We created one chance and scored twice and, to be honest, I was calm. I always had the feeling we would score. So it was well deserved although we were shoddy in possession.”
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Van Gaal did hand a surprise debut to goalkeeper Andries Noppert, who plays in the Eredivisie with Heerenveen. The 28-year-old hailed his manager for being "brave" enough to make the decision as he addressed the idea that the Dutch don't have top class goalkeepers.
He said: "In The Netherlands everyone is moaning that we don't have quality goalkeepers but you need to give young players a chance, you just need to be brave enough to make the decision. It doesn't matter if it's logical or not, there's only one man who makes this choice."
Bayern Munich defender Matthijs de Ligt admits he was shocked to be included in the starting XI. "I was completely surprised that I was starting this game. The manager told me this week," he said, before adding: "The manager gave an explanation. I think it has to do with the physical strength of Senegal. I think that was the reason."
