Netherlands suffered a humiliating World Cup exit against Morocco on penalties, prompting fierce criticism from Dutch football legends who condemned the team's performance and Ronald Koeman's tactics.
Morocco prevails in penalty shootout
Morocco dominated much of the match, but Cody Gakpo put the Dutch ahead after 72 minutes – sparking emotional scenes after announcing the tragic loss of his unborn son on Sunday. Issa Diop levelled in injury time, sending the game to extra-time and ultimately penalties. Netherlands missed three of their spot kicks before Ismail Saibari smashed home his to seal a 3-2 win for Morocco and set up a last 16 showdown with Canada.
Koeman's tactics under fire
Ronald Koeman's side impressed in the group stages but joined Germany in making a humiliating early exit. Koeman has shouldered much of the blame for the exit, having switched to a five-at-the-back system for the first time in 32 games, leaving his side devoid of creativity for much of the contest. Justin Kluivert struck the post while Quinten Timber fired wide. Crysencio Summerville was denied before Saibari drilled home the winner.
Van Hooijdonk: 'They make me sick to my stomach'
Former Celtic and Nottingham Forest star Pierre van Hooijdonk expressed outrage at the penalty-taking approach. 'You can't train pressure, but we have a national coach who took 1,423 penalties in his playing career. And he scored them all, and I've never seen him do anything crazy,' he told NOS. 'Put the ball down, run-up, and shoot, that was how it always went under Koeman. I would expect that national coach to have said: “guys, anyone taking a penalty is allowed to miss it. But in one way: run-up and shoot normally”. All those idiotic things, they make me so sick to my stomach.'
Van Hooijdonk also blasted Koeman's conservative set-up: 'Morocco was two classes better. Beforehand, we thought it was a good idea. But when you see that it actually doesn't work, you have to come up with something else. Morocco has a good team, but it is no France. They approached the match as if they were playing against France.'
Van der Vaart: 'I don't understand a damn thing'
Rafael van der Vaart was similarly scathing. 'You have a pretty tough group that you get through quite well. Then you think: things are starting to click a bit. Against Sweden, they scored five goals. What goes through your head as a coach then, that makes you think: we have to play Morocco and we're going to do things completely differently? I really don't understand a damn thing about that.'
The former Tottenham and Real Madrid midfielder also took aim at Frenkie de Jong, Netherlands' creator-in-chief who had 'his worst match ever.' 'De Jong played the absolute worst game I have ever seen from him. Just really disappointing,' van der Vaart said. 'Is that due to the system? I think Morocco's midfield is the best line-up. And then you are up against them with two players. I didn't study coaching, but that seems a bit awkward to me.'
Netherlands' penalty shootout woes continue
Netherlands now have four straight losses across the last three World Cups and the UEFA League of Nations Finals in penalty shoot-outs. The defeat marks another early exit for a European powerhouse, following Germany's elimination earlier in the tournament.
