Joshua Zirkzee started during the Netherlands’ 1-1 draw against Bosnia & Herzegovina on Tuesday evening - and the Dutch media didn't hold back with their assessment of his performance.
Zirkzee, 23, has found goals hard to come by since making a £36.5m move from Italian outfit Bologna to Manchester United in July 2024.
Despite scoring on his Red Devils debut, in a 1-0 win over Fulham on Friday, 16 August, the former Bayern Munich starlet has failed to register a single strike since and has had to settle for several appearances from the bench.
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However, he was still called up to Ronald Koeman’s squad for the ‘Oranje’s’ Nations League matches against Hungary and Bosnia.
The United forward did not feature against Hungary in Amsterdam on Saturday, 16 November, but started the game in Zenic on Tuesday evening.
The Dutchman may have wanted to go into the international fixtures viewing the game as an opportunity to regain form, but this did not turn out to be the case.
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When asked, by journalists, to give his thoughts on Zirkzee's performance, Netherlands' boss Koeman said: "My thoughts on Zirkzee's performance? I am not going to talk about individual player performances."
What Dutch media think?
The country’s media had their say after the game.
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AD awarded the player a 5/10 rating – the lowest of any on the night.
“As a second striker for the Netherlands, his moment came just before halftime, but the Manchester United player finished far from convincingly,” the report explained.
“He became the main striker after Brobbey was substituted.”
De Telegraaf echoed this assessment with a 6/10 rating for Zirkzee’s lacklustre showing, as they highlighted a clear-cut chance he missed just before the half-time break.
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Zirkzee received a cut-back on the 41-minute mark and released a left-footed shot from near the penalty spot but his tame effort was blocked by an opposition defender.
“For Zirkzee, this should be a moment to prove himself because things aren't going too well at Manchester United,” the article read.
“He scored one goal on his debut but ended up on the bench.
“You hope it helps that he gets to play as a number ten for the Netherlands. That’s also a position he aspires to. He was fairly good at holding the ball, but he was mostly wandering around.
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“His biggest weakness was revealed by the chance he had before half-time.
"He had the opportunity to take a shot from about ten metres out, but he produced a weak effort, whereas as a striker or forward, he should have been smashing the ball into the net.”
The former Bologna forward will no doubt be keen to impress new United head coach Ruben Amorim and will be hoping to play a role during the team’s away trip to Portman Road where they will face Ipswich Town on Sunday, 24 November.
Topics: Netherlands, Football, Joshua Zirkzee
Luke Alfred Davies