It Sucks - Van Dijk On Netherlands' Last-Minute Euro 2024 Exit
Virgil van Dijk expressed his disappointment after the Netherlands were eliminated from Euro 2024 following a last-minute defeat by England. The Dutch team was on the brink of extra time in their first European Championship semi-final in two decades, with Harry Kane's penalty equalising Xavi Simons' earlier goal. However, Ollie Watkins scored a decisive 90th-minute goal, sending England to face Spain in the final.Van Dijk didn't hold back his feelings about the loss. "I have no words for this," he said. "When you concede so late, it's terrible. This hurts a lot. You give it your all and if it still turns out like that, it sucks." He added that despite having more possession and opportunities, they couldn't capitalise and ended up empty-handed.
The Netherlands' defeat marked their fifth loss in six European Championship semi-finals, with their only victory being when they won the trophy in Germany in 1988. Van Dijk also criticised the decision to award England's first-half penalty after a VAR review penalised Denzel Dumfries for fouling Kane. "I think it says it all that the referee ran in quite quickly after the game; I had no time to shake his hand," Van Dijk remarked.Ronald Koeman, despite the narrow miss of reaching their fifth major tournament final, praised his players for their performance. Speaking to ITV Sport, he said, "First half, England deserved [to win]. Second half, not; it was more 50-50." He acknowledged that England created problems for them in midfield during the first half but felt that after adjustments, the match became evenly balanced.Koeman believed that his team appeared fresher than England in the last 25 minutes but conceded that Watkins' goal was exceptional. "Maybe we deserved extra time," he noted. "But we can be proud of the national team, proud of the players because we had a great tournament."Match Analysis
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