Spanish international Koke has responded to criticism from Rafael van der Vaart, who in turn was critical of the Spanish national team’s play. The former the Dutch international is anything but impressed with La Roja and showed this after the 1-1 draw against Poland during his analysis at the NOS. Koke returns to the 2010 World Cup final.
Spain started the European Championship with a goalless draw against Sweden, after which the draw against Poland followed. Luis Enrique’s team is therefore still waiting for the first victory and hopes to book that Wednesday evening (6 p.m.) against Slovakia. After the second group match there was a chance that the Netherlands would play against Spain in the eighth finals. “Let’s hope so,” said Van der Vaart. “Whisting on, really. I think it’s a horror: Spain, Jesus… There’s really nothing in it.”
The words of Van der Vaart have arrived in Spain, where Koke in the radio show El Partidazo de COPE was asked for a response. “He wants his moment of glory and he got it,” said the midfielder. “We’ll keep it in mind, for motivation. Also in case we play against the Netherlands later in the tournament. Suppose we lose to them: that’s possible, that’s football. We recently played a draw,” said Koke, referring to the exhibition game of November last year (1-1).
the Dutch ‘continues whistling’ against Spain: ‘It is a horror’
Rafael van der Vaart is anything but impressed with Spain’s form and hopes to meet with the the Dutch squad.
“We have Sergio Busquets in the squad. He once won a World Cup final against the Netherlands,” said Koke, referring to the 2010 World Cup final. The final battle in South Africa was won by Spain at the time with a goal from Andrés Iniesta just before time. Van der Vaart was able to take a swipe. “Here at Las Rozas (headquarters of the national team, ed.) there is a photo of Andrés Iniesta, with Van der Vaart next to it…” With a victory over Slovakia, Spain qualifies directly for the next round, while in a tie it reaches the next round as one of the best numbers three.
| No. | Team | m | W | G | V | +/- | Pnt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sweden | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 2 | Slovakia | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 3 | Spain | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 4 | Poland | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -1 | 1 |
Football zone keeps you informed about everything about EURO 2020
Curious about the current position, the competition program and much more European Championship news? Click here!
Related
More sports news