Ange Postecoglou criticised Tottenham star Micky van de Ven for a lapse in concentration during the Netherlands’ 2-2 draw against Japan at the World Cup.
Group F potentially looks like a group of death, which is why a lot was riding on the opening clash between the Netherlands and Japan.
It was an entertaining, end-to-end affair, with the Dutch taking the lead twice in the second half, only for the Blue Samurai to fight back on both occasions.
In the dying stages of the game, Koki Ogawa’s header bounced fortunately off Daichi Kamada’s head and beat Bart Verbruggen in the Netherlands goal, ensuring that the points were shared at the Dallas Stadium in Arlington.
Ange Postecoglou criticises Tottenham star Micky van de Ven’s error against Japan
While the game had a dramatic end, it was Japan’s first equaliser on 57 minutes from Keito Nakamura that caught the eye of Ange Postecoglou, who was doing punditry work for ITV.
The former Tottenham boss was critical of Van de Ven for not stepping out along with his backline to catch Daizen Maeda offside after Nakamura’s strike appeared to take a deflection off the Celtic striker.
Postecoglou labelled Van de Ven an ‘elite’ player earlier in the broadcast, but the Spurs star made a crucial error that cost his side a goal.
Postecoglou said during ITV’s broadcast about Japan’s first goal: “You can see here, they’ve been running in that half-space really well the whole game, and then it comes out to Nakamura.
“The Dutch defence comes out, but then Van de Ven stays in, so when he strikes the ball, Maeda is in an offside position, but you can see Van de Ven on the left. As the ball comes out, the rest of the back four moves out, he stays in, and they get back into the game.”
Lucas Bergvall helps Sweden climb to the top of Group F
Van de Ven is not the only Spurs representative in Group F, with Lucas Bergvall’s Sweden taking on Tunisia at the Monterrey Stadium in Mexico.
The Scandinavian side fired a warning shot to the other sides in the tournament by demolishing the North African side 5-1 and moving to the summit of the Group.
Bergvall came on as a substitute on 65 minutes, replacing Benjamin Nygren, with Whoscored giving the Tottenham man a performance rating of 6.8. The Spurs star even claimed an assist during his cameo.
- READ MORE: How long each Tottenham player has left on their contract after Pedro Porro signs new deal