Netherlands’ World Cup exit was brutal for Nathan Ake and Tijjani Reijnders. For Manchester City, it also creates one of the first practical advantages of Enzo Maresca’s opening summer.
City’s official report confirmed the Dutch were beaten by Morocco in a Round of 32 penalty shootout after a 1-1 draw. ESPN’s match centre recorded Morocco advancing 3-2 on spot-kicks, ending the Netherlands’ campaign far earlier than a squad of that pedigree expected.
That matters at the Etihad because Maresca is not walking into a settled, quiet pre-season. He is replacing Pep Guardiola, absorbing a World Cup-heavy squad and preparing for an Asia tour that starts against Inter on August 1. Any senior player who returns earlier than expected immediately becomes more valuable.
A painful exit with a City upside
Ake and Reijnders leave the tournament with different physical profiles. Ake gives Maresca a left-sided defensive option who can operate as a centre-back, full-back or hybrid cover defender. Reijnders gives him a midfield carrier capable of helping City play through pressure rather than simply circulate around it.
The key point is timing. Players reaching the latter stages of a summer tournament usually need a longer post-competition break before returning to club work. A Round of 32 exit is painful emotionally, but it should bring both City players back into Maresca’s orbit earlier than quarter-final or semi-final involvement would have allowed.
That gives the new head coach two things he badly needs: senior training voices and tactical repetitions. City’s recent squad-balance debate has centred on how quickly Maresca can turn inheritance into identity. Ake and Reijnders can help him do that work on the grass rather than through theory.
Reijnders becomes even more important around Rodri
Reijnders’ early return has extra significance because City’s midfield picture is already delicate. Rodri’s fitness and workload remain one of the defining issues of Maresca’s first month, and City cannot afford to build every possession sequence around one returning cornerstone.
Reijnders gives Maresca a different kind of control. He can receive on the half-turn, carry through the first line and connect into the No. 10 spaces where Phil Foden, Rayan Cherki or Bernardo Silva can dictate tempo. That is not a direct Rodri replacement brief. It is the surrounding support structure that stops the team becoming predictable.
That is why this exit is not a footnote to the summer plan. Reijnders can now take in Maresca’s first detailed midfield meetings, learn the pressing triggers early and build relationships with the players who will operate ahead of him. For a new manager trying to change rhythm without breaking City’s control, those sessions carry real value.
His Netherlands disappointment also arrives after real tournament pressure. Morocco’s late equaliser and the shootout defeat created exactly the kind of emotional test City staff will study closely. The response matters: elite players do not simply recover physically after these exits; they need to re-enter club football with clarity and edge.
Ake gives Maresca defensive insurance
Ake’s importance is quieter but just as clear. Maresca’s City will need rest-defence security while the attacking structure is being rebuilt. In the early weeks, that often matters more than ideology. A coach can install patterns faster when the back line has players who understand space, danger and tempo.
The Dutch defender also allows Maresca to manage Josko Gvardiol, Ruben Dias and the wider defensive group without rushing every senior piece through the same loading plan. With City heading for Inter, a K League All-Stars fixture and Atletico Madrid in Asia, that flexibility is not cosmetic. It is a conditioning tool.
The Netherlands exit will sting for both players. City, though, have been handed an early-window gain: two high-level footballers returning sooner, bruised but available, just as Maresca begins the detailed work of turning a Guardiola inheritance into his own team.
