Saturday 29 / June / 2024
Berlin : After his side's loss against Austria in the ongoing EURO Cup 2024, Netherlands head coach Ronald Koeman accepted that they did not defend well in the game.
Cody Gakpo and Memphis Depay scored the only goals for the Dutch side in the 47th and 75th minutes of the match but their efforts went in vain as Romano Schmid, Marcel Sabitzer and an own goal helped Austria clinch a 3-2 win over Netherlands on Tuesday in Berlin.
Speaking at the post-match press conference, Koeman said that his side made a few mistakes and was not aggressive in the match.
"I can list quite a few mistakes. We started very badly. We did not defend well. We were not aggressive, there was a lack of pressure and we lost the ball as well, particularly at the start so it was really very bad," Koeman was quoted by Goal.com as saying.
The head coach added that his side did not control the match against Austria on Tuesday.
"The players ran a lot, but not in the positions so it was awful, very bad. We did not control the match. The match against France was reasonable as a team, but today it was appalling," he added.
"It is not a question that should be addressed now because I don't like to speak about these kinds of questions: what happens if. If it happens I will try to have a response. I am responsible for this match, but we are still in the next stage and have to play much better. It is possible with this squad. They have the qualities. If we fail, you can ask me this question [about my future] again," he further added.
The Netherlands are placed in Group D of the EURO 2024 along with Austria, France and Poland. They are standing in third place on the table with four points after winning one of their previous three games.
