The Dutch media made a damning judgment on the Dutch national team on Monday after the elimination by the Czech Republic (0-2) in the eighth final of the European Championship. The day after the elimination in Budapest, the front page of the Monday edition of The Telegraph in large letters: ‘Red for the Dutch’, logically with an accompanying photo of Matthijs de Ligt. The headline of the sports section is also worth mentioning: ‘Hoon for De Boer’. “Oranje chokes in the Czech Republic and this tournament never advertises Dutch football”, says the match report, which itself received ‘A European Championship to quickly forget’ from Mike Verweij.
“A red card for De Ligt, a capital error by Maarten Stekelenburg and a faltering system caused a disgrace. EURO 2020 has become a tournament without any brilliance due to the totally unnecessary elimination, a European Championship to quickly forget,” writes the journalist from The Telegraph. “The Dutch national team received the wages of fear. ( . . . ) What remains is a memory of three meaningless, won games in the group stage: a rickety victory over Ukraine (3-2), a solid victory against Austria (2-0) and a must against toddler North Macedonia (3-0).”
The worst man in the Dutch gets a 2 after a failure in Budapest
Voetbalzone handed out report figures to the players of the Dutch.
“Due to the anti-gay legislation in Hungary, the run-up of the Netherlands-Czech Republic was largely dominated by the colors of the rainbow. But the evening in Budapest ended pitch black for the Dutch. Whether De Boer can cry and start again is partly in the hands of departing director Eric Gudde.” Also on the front page of the General Newspaper has been given a prominent place for the the Dutch debacle: ‘Painly’. “After the shocking loss to the Czech Republic, this tournament fits into the category of the 1990 and 2006 World Cups: forgotten as soon as possible”, writes Sjoerd Mossou. “A missed, imposed opportunity for Donyell Malen, followed by the clumsy red card for De Ligt, led to the defeat. But the elimination was certainly not limited to those two moments: the Dutch team also fell seriously short in a broader perspective.”
“In the first real tournament match, the national coach and the supporting players of the Dutch failed on almost all fronts,” emphasizes the journalist of the Dutch national team. General Newspaper. “In addition, De Boer did not find an answer for a moment to the power play of the Czechs, who had excellently adjusted to the the Dutch squad. The 3-5-2 system never came to fruition in Budapest, there was no tactical ruse, while the questionable substitution of Quincy Promes for Malen definitively sealed the fate of the Dutch national team,” Mossou sums up.
Mossou is of the opinion that the KNVB can also count on the elimination, because the football association never entered into a conversation with a coach from ‘the absolute top category’ after the sudden departure of Ronald Koeman to Barcelona. “The half-retired Louis van Gaal was not even indirectly polled or called. With De Boer, the directors Eric Gudde and Nico-Jan Hoogma opted for a trainer with a broken career. How all this will go on in the future remains to be seen. Eric Gudde will soon leave his post in Zeist without sporting success, but participation in the World Cup in Qatar is still far from certain. In September, the the Dutch squad will resume its World Cup qualification against Norway in Oslo: not exactly an ABC. The blossoming optimism surrounding the Dutch national team ran aground in Budapest at the first breath of headwind. That makes you think hard.”
according to wedding everyone at the Dutch, but especially De Boer, should look in the mirror. “De Boer is, of course, primarily responsible for the Budapest debacle. He opted for a conservative tactic against the least excellent Czech Republic, which led to a fearful and apathetic-looking Dutch team. ( . . . ) With their head bowed deeply, the the Dutch squad walked off, realizing that they had immediately robbed the first Dutch participation in a major tournament after seven years of all its brilliance. Weighed and found too light, for now. That also applies to De Boer.”
Willem Vissers from de Volkskrant does not mince words. “Just don’t play football. Don’t show form. Hardly get a chance. To squander the identity of a unique football country, the image of the compelling attack, the dominance, the wing game, the solid construction. All pearls, exchange it for muddy coincidence football. Let fear rule Apart from the opening phase, it didn’t resemble the football of the Netherlands,” sums up the journalist of the daily newspaper on Monday.
“OneLove, stood on the captaincy of Georginio Wijnaldum, to propagate one love in the world. One love, that was the Czechs. A team. One fighter’s heart. One system,” Vissers continues. “It is inevitable that the Dutch default will have consequences for De Boer’s position. Deviating from the way the team has built up success in recent years, to withstand the big opponents. And then lose with that little-trained 3-5-2, before the really big opponents have taken office. Oof.”
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