A dejected Ronald Koeman. —AP
DORTMUND: After seeing his team floored in the Euro 2024 semi-final due a controversial penalty decision and a last-gasp Ollie Watkins goal, Dutch coach Ronald Koeman was heartbroken, but still proud of his team.
“I am disappointed about the final result in a match which started really well for us. It is hard to accept,” Koeman told reporters at the Westfalenstadion in Dortmund, where the Dutch had taken an early lead on the night through a brilliant goal by Xavi Simons.
Harry Kane quickly equalised from the penalty in question, but the match was seemingly heading for extra time before substitute Watkins struck in the 91st minute to send England through to a final against Spain.
England’s penalty came just after the quarter-hour mark when Kane sent a shot over the bar and was caught on the follow-through by Denzel Dumfries.
Contact was minimal and seemingly innocuous, but German referee Felix Zwayer pointed to the spot after coming over to the VAR monitor.
“What can you do as a defender? In my opinion this shouldn’t have been a penalty,” Koeman complained.
“He tried to block the ball ... To penalise that is to tell him we cannot play properly football and that is due to VAR. It breaks football,” Koeman said.
The manager felt his team had been in control after the 35th-minute introduction of midfielder Joey Veerman for the injured Memphis Depay, which allowed them to stem the tide of England attacks.
“We had some difficulty in the midfield to stop good players like (Jude) Bellingham and (Phil) Foden between the lines,” he said.
“We didn’t control the game. We made some changes to get control back and the feeling was that in the last 20 minutes we were the better team and attacking more. But then came the knockout on 90 minutes. A great goal, and then it’s over, and that is difficult to accept.”
Koeman, 61, returned for a second spell as Dutch coach following the 2022 World Cup, when Louis van Gaal took the team to the last eight in Qatar.
Their run in Germany is their best performance at a European Championship since 2004, when they also went out in the semi-finals.
“We should be proud, we’ve achieved many things in these weeks,” insisted Koeman, whose team notably missed injured Barcelona playmaker Frenkie de Jong at the tournament.
“This team is able to do more. And moreover, there are also players who will join us in the future. Some were not able to play because they were not fit, so there’s a future for us.”
The Dutch had been hoping to go to Berlin for a final against Spain that would have been a repeat of the 2010 World Cup, which the Dutch had lost.
Instead, they go home to their next assignment: a double-header of Nations League games in September against Bosnia and Herzegovina and Germany.
Koeman meanwhile believes England can compete with Spain in the final on Sunday.
“I think England showed great football in the first half after going 1-0 down,” he said “England are in the final and they have possibilities to win it. Spain are playing on a high level, but England can stop them, why not.” — AFP
