Rafael van der Vaart so impressed with £43m Tottenham player at Euro 2024
Denmark were pushed aside by Germany as Hojbjerg suffered a 2-0 defeat while Vicario watched on from the sidelines as Italy were upset by Switzerland.
As for Dragusin, the Tottenham defender and Romania were well beaten by the Netherlands, with Micky van de Ven coming on as a late substitute in a convincing 3-0 victory.
Van de Ven has had to settle for a role on the bench under Ronald Koeman at Euro 2024 but has featured four times as a substitute.
The 22-year-old Spurs star has performed well at left-back when called upon though and his displays have impressed none other than Rafael van der Vaart.
Speaking to The Times, Van der Vaart was looking ahead to England’s crunch clash against the Netherlands in the semi-final this evening.
The Dutchman believes Koeman’s side have brilliant depth and singled out Van de Ven for praise.
“On the left, it is Gakpo, who is high and wide, and the left back Nathan Aké forms a three-man defence in the build-up,” the former Spurs star said.
“If Aké is not working, we put in Micky van de Ven. He has done well every time he has been on the pitch. We have good strength on the bench.”
Van de Ven set for England clash
Van de Ven can find himself slightly unfortunate not to have started more games for the Netherlands this summer.
The £43 million Tottenham man has caught the eye at left-back but due to Koeman’s wealth of options in defence, he’s played a total of 66 minutes in Germany.
It will be interesting to see if Van de Ven gets more minutes tonight, particularly due to the threat of Bukayo Saka for England.
The Arsenal winger starred as the Three Lions beat Switzerland on penalties in the quarter-final and has provided a real threat down the right-hand side.
Van de Ven’s could prove useful in dealing with the England star but Manchester City’s Nathan Ake is the preferred option at this stage.
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