“There was lack of belief, intensity, character… and we lacked a proper leader.”
That was the assessment of one-time World Cup finalist and former Netherlands international Nigel De Jong after he’d watched his nation crash out of Euro 2020 at the hands of Czech Republic on Sunday.
Netherlands had lit up the tournament in the group stage, beating Austria and Northern Macedonia without conceding but also playing out a pulsating 3-2 victory over Ukraine that exposed their defensive shortcomings.
They were favourites heading into their last-16 tie with a Czech side that had fared well in the group stage. Indeed, it was a Czech outfit well drilled in the art of frustrating supposedly stronger opposition.
Matthijs de Ligt’s deserved red card on 55 minutes changed the game. Thirteen minutes later Tomas Holes put his side ahead, before Patrik Schick bagged his fourth goal of the tournament with 10 minutes remaining.
“The goals we gave away, the chances we didn’t take; all that goes through your head,” conceded Netherlands captain Georginio Wijnaldum. “After the red card we found it difficult to put them under pressure. Things just got more difficult for us.”
But the writing, according to former Netherlands players watching, had been on the wall long before the red card.
“There was no belief after the first half, it was gone,” said De Jong. “There was no belief to go forward and win the game. It was a poor display by the Netherlands. There was a lack of intensity, aggression and mentality.
“Sometimes when there’s a red card the team pulls together, but the Netherlands didn’t do that. Today, it wasn’t meant to be.”
His sentiments expressed on ITV’s coverage of the game were perhaps tempered by the fact his audience weren’t partizan compatriots. Over on Dutch TV station NPO it was a slightly more critical affair.
“You are the manager, you receive a red card. And then you decide to take off your most dangerous man,” said Rafael van der Vaart, pointing to the fact De Boer withdrew Donyell Malen for Quincy Promes two minutes after De Ligt’s dismissal.
“Isn’t there one person there who could tell De Boer not to do this?”
Wesley Sneijder, a team-mate of De Jong and Van der Vaart in the 2010 World Cup final defeat to Spain, also couldn’t understand the switch, saying: “Georginio Wijnaldum. I haven’t seen him today, not once. And this is our captain. As for that [Promes] substitution, well I would never have taken off Malen.”
He added: “I keep hearing we dominated apart from the single minute where everything went wrong for us. But we didn’t. I don’t know why the manager said this. Zero shots on target all game. To dominate is to make opportunities.”
Perhaps the most concerning criticism came from Mario Melchiot, the former Chelsea defender who represented Netherlands 22 times in the 2000s.
“Sometimes it’s a wake-up call,” the ex-full-back said of the team that had only this summer qualified for its first major tournament since 2014.
“The tactical level, how the Czech played was totally different,” he told the BBC. “I always said the Dutch team never got tested at the back. Look at the goals they conceded. Tactically Czech Republic were ready, they set the team out and the energy level that they brought was incredible.
“They didn’t play the way we know Holland like to play and that’s because the Czechs played a system that was very difficult to break down and Holland didn’t have the energy levels to compete with that.”
The inquisition, then, has begun. De Boer dodged questions after the game about his future. But whether he can ride out the oncoming storm remains to be seen.
More from i on Euro 2020
- England aren’t ‘rubbish’ and Southgate isn’t a ‘fraud’ – we just need a bit of patience
- What the Premier League could learn from Euro 2020’s controversy-free referees
- The football nomad who became a hero for his role in saving Eriksen’s life
- How Ronaldo’s Coca-Cola stunt could change the face of football sponsorship
- How to watch every Euro 2020 match on TV and online in the UK
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3dkFEhw
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