Nathan Aké Candid About Limited Playing Time at Manchester City: 'That's Tough at Times'

It turned into a challenging evening for Nathan Aké, who perhaps saw more action than he would have preferred. Following Denzel Dumfries' early red card, the Oranje played 80 minutes with 10 men against Ecuador's 11. This meant Aké, among others, had to step up. It wasn't his best performance, but it was certainly memorable. Aké had been a reserve captain for years, but tonight he finally got to wear the armband. "I'm proud of that," he shared with a broad grin.

A completely new kind of test, Aké described the situation that arose after Dumfries' red card in the 11th minute. "You never know if this could happen at the World Cup; you didn't plan for it, but you have to deal with it," the Oranje defender explained. It led to new insights for him; he saw a different kind of team, he told Sportnieuws.nl and other outlets afterwards. "It's about fighting spirit. We had to play more long balls and fight harder. That was a different side of us."

Aké was given a starting spot by Koeman, who had previously challenged him over his limited playing time at City. Now that his minutes are increasing in the new calendar year, Aké is confident about the World Cup. "The national coach and I have known each other for a long time. I'm grateful for his trust. I always try to repay that when I get minutes. I just always have to be ready."

Aké honestly admits that it's not always easy to accept his role at City. "It's sometimes mentally tough to deal with. Especially because in recent years I was a starter more often. I've discussed that with Pep. This year is just different, but it demands a bit more mentally. You always have to be ready for when you play again. Then people expect you to be at your best. I've always learned that no matter what happens, you never know how things will turn out in football."

That might also be the lesson he takes from the match against Ecuador. No one would have expected the Oranje to get a red card in a friendly international. "You never want to get red cards, but you have to react when it happens. I think that's why it was a good test; you don't often play 80 minutes with 10 men. It's good to see how it was and what we can do. In any case, you always have to keep fighting together to get a result over the line."