the Oranje struggles in the first half, only Germany still worse
Although national team coach Xavi put his hand to his own chest Thursday evening after a hard‑fought 2‑2 draw against Greece, the analysis points out that the Oranje has increasingly started international matches in a sleepy mode in recent years, and that this especially leads to deficits in the first half.
Statistics show that the Netherlands has more often made a sleepy start in recent years than before. The team has already fallen behind at halftime eleven times since 2023.
Poor first half compared to European top teams
Compared with other European top nations, the Oranje performs very poorly in the first half. Since 2023 the country has been behind at halftime thirteen times, a figure only surpassed by Germany (thirteen times). Spain, the current world champion, was only behind at halftime twice in the last 181 matches.
Under former national team coach Ronald Koeman, the Oranje was only behind at halftime twice in the last 21 international matches. Xavi has already equalised that number in his first three matches.
Noa Lang, forward of Napoli, put his finger on the sore spot Thursday evening. “The way we showed up in the first half must come to an end. It happens to us too often,” said the striker.
Historical and recent defensive failures
In Thessaloniki the team could not keep a clean sheet for the eleventh consecutive time. Historically, between 1956 and 1958 the Oranje endured sixteen successive international matches without a clean sheet. The last time the Netherlands recorded a clean sheet was on 17 November 2025 in the World Cup qualification against Lithuania (4‑0).
Against Greece the Oranje registered five shots before halftime, while the opposition fired seven shots and scored two goals. After the break the team performed clearly better against Serbia and Germany.
The figures underline that improving the first half is crucial for Xavi's plans. Only a stronger start can help the Oranje measure itself against the European elite.