Tottenham: Micky van de Ven continues to prove Netherlands role is not good fit

Tottenham have plenty of players heading to the World Cup, with Micky van de Ven one high-profile example.

Van de Ven started in Wednesday's friendly against Algeria, which the Netherlands were strong favourites to win.

Unfortunately for Ronald Koeman, preparations for the World Cup have not started well, with his side losing 1-0 to the African nation.

Unlike at Tottenham, van de Ven has been deployed away from central defence, and while he produced a solid defensive display, the attacking part of his play at left-back still lacks.

Overall, it feels like van de Ven is not as well suited to playing as a fullback as he is at centre-back, with the stats proving it.

How did Micky van de Ven perform against Algeria?

Van de Ven did not have a terrible performance against Algeria, with him being handed just 45 minutes of football.

However, in an attacking sense, much more could have been done by the 25-year-old during his display.

Against Algeria, van de Ven made five passes into the final third and was unsuccessful in all three of his cross attempts – 0 per cent accuracy.

He created zero chances and ended the game with zero key passes. There was little forward threat for Algeria to worry about.

Defensively he had little to do, but the Spurs man did do that part of his game well, as expected. He won two out of three duels, made one recovery and completed one block.

He is certainly more suited to being a centre-back or the left centre-back in a three-at-the-back formation.

Could Micky van de Ven's role be suited to tournament football?

As stated, defensively van de Ven was sound, and that should be taken into account when discussing his overall performance.

Tournament football will often be decided on a one-off game, and perhaps the more defensive approach is the way to go for the Netherlands.

For Van de Ven this could certainly be the case, with Koeman opting to keep things tight at the back for this World Cup.

However, you can’t help but think having his pace at centre-back as a recovery option is a much better insurance policy.