Ronald Koeman proud of the Dutch team despite defeat: ‘We fought bravely’ | Dutch football

Koeman was soon able to throw his pre-made plan in the trash when Kylian Mbappé made it 0-1 after seven minutes. “We had chosen a certain approach, so it doesn’t become easier if it is 0-1 so quickly. At 0-1, Xavi Simons lets his back run twice, and they punish that. The central coverage was also not entirely good, I think Virgil van Dijk gets out. You know that everything has to be right against these types of opponents. Then it cannot be the case that you keep an eye on the ball and not on your man.”

Ultimately, Koeman saw that the Dutch team was getting into the match better. “We even had better chances than France,” he said on NOS. “The fact that Mbappé scores such a great second goal makes a difference at this level. We don’t have such a player. I am proud of the team, because they tried to come back until the last moment. You could feel that there was still something in it.”

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Koeman’s mouth curls especially when talking about the debutants. He thought Bart Verbruggen made a calm impression – ‘although he had little to do’, he called Tijjani Reijnders a modern footballer and he also enjoyed Quilindschy Hartman. “You can’t say it because you lost the match, but I think we fought bravely.”

An important match against Greece awaits on Monday. The Greeks won against Ireland on Friday evening, putting them three points ahead of the Dutch team in Group B. “That doesn’t make it any easier. Greece will smell blood, especially in a home match. We know what we have to do.”

Outplayed by France in March, now lost again. Virgil van Dijk hated it, because he felt there was more to it than that the 2-1 loss. “Of course we play a slightly different tactic. Sag a little more and choose the moment to apply pressure and we did that well at times, I think. But you lose and that’s a shame because I feel there was more to it,” Van Dijk said at NOS.

Once again, the Dutch team found themselves falling behind quickly. In Paris it was after 1 minute and 55 seconds. Now after just over five minutes. “Inattention? I find that difficult to say,” said the captain. “You have to pick yourself up. We actually played well before and after that goal. We fought and at times showed good football and created opportunities.”

Van Dijk was full of praise for the debutants at the Dutch team. “Look how the 2-1 is achieved. That is simply excellent,” said the captain. “Everyone did everything they could. After that goal you take more risks, but it was not meant to be.”

The importance of the duel with Greece, which won 2-0 against Ireland in Dublin, Monday will be even bigger, Van Dijk also realized. “We can get our hopes up. If we want to go to the European Championships, we have to get results there. We are going to do everything we can.”