Koeman commented on the departure of the Netherlands from the 2026 World Cup

The head coach of the Netherlands national team, Ronald Koeman, commented on his team's exit from the 2026 World Cup after losing to Morocco in the 1/16 finals of the tournament. The coach of the oranges admitted that the result was a serious blow for the team that came to the World Cup with great ambitions. According to Koeman, the emotional state of the players after the final whistle shows how much this tournament meant to them. "We can't blame ourselves for anything, and it's clear from how devastated the boys are. We had a dream," said the specialist. At the same time, the coach admitted that the team could have spent some episodes better. In particular, he drew attention to the fact that his wards sometimes retreated too deep to their own goal and lost the opportunity to actively press the opponent. However, Koeman emphasized that it was almost impossible to completely neutralize the moments of such a strong national team. Separately, the coach explained the decision to use a scheme with five defenders. According to him, such a move was a reaction to the defensive problems that the team showed in the previous matches of the tournament. "We started playing with 5 defenders, because in the three previous matches we allowed too much to the opponents at our goal. You can, of course, close your eyes to it and continue to play the same way, but the duty of the coach is to change something. Everyone in the Netherlands asked us to play 5 defenders - and we did. And still, something is wrong. But I don't care about that. I don't regret anything," Koeman said. Thus, the Dutch national team ended its performance at the World Cup already at the first stage of the playoffs, and the coach of the team after the match expressed his support for his players and defended the tactical decisions made during the tournament.