Frenkie de Jong earned a 7.9 FotMob rating for his contribution in the Netherlands (OnsOranje) World Cup opener against Japan.
De Jong played a central role in the team’s tactical setup, with Ryan Gravenberch operating to his right and Tijjani Reijnders on the left.
The Barcelona midfielder played the full 90 minutes. He no score goal and he no assist, but he was spectacular in the central midfield position against a resilient Japanese side. The guy try! Those chinko people too strong 😆
De Jong’s expected assists (xA) stood at 0.04. He completed 69 of his 73 passes, giving him an impressive 95% pass accuracy. He also created one chance, registered no shots on or off target, and contributed seven defensive actions.
Going forward, the Barcelona midfielder recorded 85 successful touches, completed his only dribble attempt, and delivered 15 passes into the final third.
He also completed 2 of his 3 long-ball attempts (67%) and was not dispossessed at any point during the match.
Still decent for a player whom OnsOranje manager Ronald Koeman had previously expressed fitness concerns about. Despite those concerns, Frenkie played the full match without any major issues.
Defensively, De Jong registered three tackles, two foot clearances, one headed clearance, two interceptions, five recoveries, and was dribbled past only once.
Frenkie won 5 of his 8 ground duels (62%), was fouled once, and committed two clean fouls. He didn’t receive yellow or red card.
Overall, this was a solid outing for Frenkie. He still hasn’t had enough time to fully get back to his best after helping Barcelona win the 2025/26 La Liga title. The Dutch midfielder featured in 25 league matches, scoring one goal and providing five assists while operating mainly as a defensive midfielder.
Recall that he missed a number of matches through injury before returning to feature in Barcelona’s final games of the season. One of those appearances came in Barça’s 2-0 victory over Real Madrid, where he played just 26 minutes.
If this performance against Japan is anything to go by, Barcelona fans will be encouraged by the signs that De Jong is steadily getting back to full fitness ahead of the new season.
