If the Netherlands are to achieve anything at the European Championship, they are going to have to take a leaf out of opponent Austria’s book now that they are in the knockout stages.
The Dutch had high hopes coming into the tournament in Germany but were handed a reality check as Austria beat them 3-2 in Berlin on Tuesday and condemned them to third place in group D.
Four points from their first two games, however, were already enough to make sure of progress but they now go into the last-16 as one of the ‘lucky losers’ rather than a side moving onto the business end of the tournament with a flourish.
“It’s about the approach to the game, how you play without the ball, and our pressure simply has to be improved,” said top scorer Memphis Depay, one of numerous Dutch players critical of the team’s performance after the defeat.
“Austria were aggressive, why weren’t we as aggressive? Sometimes we weren't in good positions, which meant we couldn't get into the game. Then we seemed passive, and we don't want that. We have a team that wants to press forward. Just like Austria want and did. We do have the qualities," he insisted.
The unexpected loss brought a cloudburst of criticism from media and supporters – most of it about how tepid the team looked.
“I thought it was dramatically, incredibly bad. We’d even have a hard time against a top amateur club especially if you play like that and give away so much space,” said former international Rafael van der Vaart, whose blunt analysis makes him a popular personality on Dutch television.
IRRITATED
“If you are not in a good defensive position, you do not cover, you are not aggressive, you hand the ball to the opponent, then it is a poor showing,” agreed coach Ronald Koeman.
Koeman had been irritated almost from the start with his side’s application and took the dramatic step of removing defensive midfielder Joey Veerman after 35 minutes.
“I thought something had to be done. He's giving balls away, that's inexplicable as passing is usually his quality," Koeman explained.
There was little empathy afterwards for the 25-year-old who was key in PSV Eindhoven’s runaway success in the Dutch league campaign.
“A player knows when the tournament is over for him. He had two chances (recalled to the national team) and failed to take them. Then you have to go to the back of the queue, that's how it works,” added regular Dutch TV pundit Pierre van Hooijdonk.