“We played with fire,” Koeman told the NOS. “Fortunately, it doesn’t cost us points in the end, because then it might have been disastrous.” Because of the extremely difficult victory, the Orange did do great business in the battle for World Cup qualification.
Memphis Depay was not obsessed with record: “But what else should I be busy with?”
“It is very strange, because you start well,” Koeman pointed out the 2-0 lead that the Orange took. “But after that we might do things at 10 or 15 percent less. They get a little better in the game, but of course we are not allowed to get into trouble in such a way,” said the national coach, who from the sidelines are passionately watching how his team collected two hits before half -time and the spacious lead was completely lost.
Rafael van der Vaart and Pierre van Hooijdonk see ‘dramatic’ performance: ‘You had to change that soon’
“In the second half, the courage and the covering fell completely away,” Koeman had seen. “And then you see things happening that you are wondering how it can. They have not had many open opportunities, but they have had enough dangerous moments. It should not be that I have to add a fifth defender to bring extra length and power.”
Virgil van Dijk does not have a magazine for the mouth of the Dutch national team in World Cup qualification
Ronald Koeman happy with Memphis Depay
Koeman was of course happy with the performance of Memphis Depay, the new all time top scorer of the Dutch national team who came to hug his trainer after the 0-1.
“I supported Memphis in a period when others might not have done that,” said Koeman. “We can be happy that he was there tonight, but we should not be proud of what we have shown. I do not want to say that it was a catastrophe, but it is not the way we have to play these matches.”