Louis Van Gaal Stunning Netherlands Tactic | Football Manager 2023 |

Louis Van Gaal changed his formation from a usual 4-3-3 to a 3-5-2 for his World Cup 2022 Netherlands team.

This was probably done to accommodate the types of players he had in the team at the time.

And this is crucial, because this tactic will not work as intended if you don’t have the players to perform it. Especially in the defence and on the wings.

We start with a Sweeper keeper on attack. No instructions for him.

2 Wide center backs, one on support and one on defend plus a Central defender on defend make up the back 3.

No instructions for them as the Wide center back have embedded the stay wider instruction, while the Central defender is already instructed to hold position.

In the midfield, I went with a Defensive midfielder on support and a Segundo volante. Here, you can experiment a lot.

This combination of roles worked for me, but you have plenty to choose from and implement the one that works best for your team. No instructions for them.

The important thing is to keep one player as defensive minded and one as a more attacking minded one.

 On the wings I experimented with a Defensive winger on support on the right side and a Wide midfielder on attack on the left side.

Here as well, you could go with the combination that fits your team best. But, as Louis Van Gaal preferred the wingers to both defend and attack when needed, pay attention to do the same.

The Wide midfielder has cross more often and stay wider as instructions.

Upfront, an Attacking playmaker on support duty links the midfield with the attack. No instructions for him.

A Deep lying forward and a Complete forward. Instead of the Complete forward, you could use an Advanced forward. The idea is that the duo to fulfill different responsibilities.

No instructions for them.

As mentality I went with Positive. Especially that Netherlands is a team that is expected to dominate most games.

In possession fairly wide, play out of defence, slightly shorter passing directness and slightly higher tempo. Play for set pieces and be more expressive.

Louis Van Gaal prefers his team to build from the back and counter when possible.

In transition counter, distribute quickly, to the defence and roll it out.

And out of possession mid block, standard defensive line, press more often and get stuck in.

The Dutch is not a static team after losing possession. And often they man mark their opposition across the pitch.

However, as this is quite difficult to replicate in the match engine, we must make sure that at least the players step up after losing possession. Even in a mid block.

This tactic is very interesting and Louis Van Gaal is a great tactician. The way he made use of the talent available to him is worth noting on its own.

As mentioned, without the proper players, you may struggles using this tactic. This happened to me. I did manage to reach the Champions League semi-final with Brighton, but for the most part of the season I was outclassed.

As my wingers, especially, were not equipped for such a tactic.

But, do let me know how it worked for you. For sure you did better than me, right?