Koeman stands firm: ‘If I had to do it again, I’d make the same choice’

Ronald Koeman has refused to back down after the Netherlands’ World Cup exit to Morocco, insisting he would make the same tactical choices again despite the defeat on penalties. The Dutch, who lined up in a 5-2-3 formation, lost 0-0 after extra time before falling 4-3 on penalties. Koeman addressed the media at the studios, where he described the dressing-room scenes as “dramatic” after the defeat. “It was dramatic, even in the dressing room. We gave everything,” he said. “We started the penalty shoot-out well, but when that second Moroccan penalty went in, it was psychologically decisive. In their favour and against us.” He added: “Yes, this is of course bizarre. He has the ball, but with his heel he taps it in. When you have moments like this against you as well, it stops. We all know how difficult penalties are at this kind of moment.” Koeman’s side missed three of their five spot-kicks. Koeman switched to a five-at-the-back system for the knockout tie, departing from the 4-3-3 used in the group stage. “I look back positively on that game plan,” he said, trailing off when asked if he was satisfied with the outcome.

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“Do I think we can blame ourselves? No. You can see how broken the boys are. Those boys also had a dream, and of course that plays on their minds. There were things in the match that could have been better, of course.” He admitted Oranje gave too much away in the group stage, which prompted the tactical shift against Morocco. “You can close your eyes to that and carry on the same way, but then I think it’s up to the coaches to change things. At certain moments, it could have been different or better—that’s possible.” Koeman also pushed back against public criticism of the five-defender setup. “If you agreed to it beforehand, you can’t complain afterwards that it didn’t work. The whole of the Netherlands asked us to play with five at the back. Now we play with five and we get criticised for it. I don’t care about that criticism at all.”

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“That doesn’t matter to me now. I have to make choices. We chose, in consultation with the players, to play this way. You see this in many matches—you get pushed back. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, but if I had to do it again, I would make the same choice,” Koeman said firmly. He concluded: “I am a fan of this system. Many teams play this system and it is often hard to defend. Once again, I have no regrets.” Koeman’s contract with the KNVB expires this summer, and an evaluation is scheduled after the tournament. “From tomorrow, that will come. I have my thoughts, but I don’t think now is the time to say anything about it. You won’t get a glimpse of that from me now.”