Koeman: There is an awareness that this could be the last match of the tournament for the Netherlands

The national team of the Netherlands will play against Morocco at the stage of the 1/16 finals of the 2026 World Cup. On the eve of the game, the head coach of Oranje, Ronald Koeman, shared his expectations for the upcoming confrontation. "In our previous matches in the tournament, we created a lot of good scoring chances. But in defense we need to play more compactly. We have paid a lot of attention to that in recent days. I'm sure things will go better with that against Morocco. They have a great attacking team, but Morocco also have weaknesses. They often leave space behind, so with our quality in transition we can punish them for that. In fact, it is a pity that such a match will take place at such an early stage, because we have two teams that are used to going as far as possible in such tournaments. And aunt, if you lose, you go home. We are aware that for us and for Morocco, this could be the last match of the tournament. Penalty? During the years of my playing career, I did not coach them often, although many people said that I was a good shot. Instead, you can practice a steady stroke, but this is more about self-control and self-confidence. You should not look at the goalkeeper, who is waving something there - it only distracts. You have to understand what you are going to do as soon as you approach the ball. If there is any doubt at this moment, it will end badly. We focused on certain standards during training, but there is a certain blind spot that cannot be trained. I constantly repeat this to the players," said the Dutch specialist. The match between the Netherlands and Morocco will take place on June 30 at 04:00.