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Netherlands boss Ronald Koeman didn’t pull any punches with his side as he slammed their defensive efforts during the 1-1 draw with Poland on Friday.
Liverpool trio Virgil van Dijk, Ryan Gravenberch and Cody Gakpo all started in Warsaw, with the visitors all but guaranteeing their spot at next year’s World Cup thanks to Memphis Depay’s second-hald equalizer. With a three-point lead and 13-goal advantage heading into their final qualifier against Lithuania on Monday, it would take a remarkable set of result of results to deny the Netherlands a place in the United States, Canada and Mexico now.
But it wasn’t all that comfortable a night for the Dutch in Poland, and having found themselves 1-0 down at half-time after Jakub Kaminski’s opener, it threatened to be a nervy end to their qualifying campaign.
Van Dijk in particular has come in for some criticism for his part in Poland’s goal, but it wasn’t just the Liverpool captain who was the subject of Koeman’s ire after the game.
"I watched the goal again,” Koeman said, as per De Telegraaf. “You're five against two, and several players aren't doing what they're supposed to.
“Of course, they should never, ever score a goal from that. Things happen that simply shouldn't happen. It's not that one player is lacking. We're doing that here with four or five people, compared to two."
De Telegraaf goes on to name the players seemingly at fault, with Van Dijk and Gravenberch among them, alongside Arsenal’s Jurrien Timber and Sunderland’s on-loan defender Lutsharel Geertruida.
"It was terrible. At this level, this shouldn't happen,” Koeman added.
“If you get beaten by a move, okay. Or if you don't have enough players behind the ball. But actually, we have too many players behind the ball here. Maybe that's what it's all about: looking at each other to see who's going to go."
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Although it wasn’t the best of performances from his side, Koeman can start to think about planning for next year’s tournament, with even a defeat to Lithuania on Monday likely to see his side qualify automatically.
Nevertheless, the Netherlands’ head coach was left concerned by his side’s inability to break down Poland’s low block.
"If you don't do things well yourself, it can be difficult. We sometimes looked for difficult solutions, instead of switching sides more quickly,” Koeman said.
“You have to be more patient there and defend better in some moments. I don't think they had many chances, but apart from that goal, they had two great ones. And I don't think we did."
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