Liam Duckstein
Ronald Koeman did not hold back after Netherlands suffered a 1-0 home defeat against Algeria in a World Cup warm-up on Wednesday, calling the result a wake-up call days before the tournament begins.
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The North Africans struck late to snatch the winner on the eve of the Dutch squad’s departure for New York, where they face another friendly against World Cup debutants Uzbekistan on Monday. Feyenoord winger Anis Hadj Moussa, playing on familiar ground at his club’s stadium, netted the decisive goal four minutes from time to dampen the mood ahead of Thursday’s departure.
“I absolutely hate losing; this was a match we should have won. We have to win these kinds of home matches; our (ranking) position demands it.” — Ronald Koeman
Koeman felt the eighth-ranked Dutch dominated the opening 25 minutes against fellow World Cup qualifiers Algeria, generating several clear chances before allowing the match to slip from their grasp.
“Because you don’t put the game to bed within those first 25 minutes, you end up playing against yourselves. If you get four or five clear chances, you have to score. And even if that doesn’t happen, it shouldn’t become a problem. But after that, we started making things more difficult for ourselves. At times we lacked aggression and were simply too nice.” — Ronald Koeman
When asked whether taking a defeat in the build-up was preferable to one at the tournament itself, Koeman was direct: “No.”
“Winning always gives you a certain feeling. Losing is simply bad. We certainly don’t need to panic now, but we do need to dot the i’s and cross the t’s again. You could call it a wake-up call.” — Ronald Koeman
Netherlands enter Group F at the finals, where they will face Japan, Sweden, and Tunisia. With finishing in front of goal and defensive composure both exposed in this defeat, the Dutch have pointed issues to fix before competitive action begins. Follow TipsGG for full coverage of their World Cup campaign.