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The Netherlands team arrived at the last date with great chances of leading the Group D of the Euro Cupbut his fall before Austria He took away his privileged place, made him descend to third place and the criticisms of the Orangedespite the fact that these results sent them to the more accessible side of the round of 16 draw. The negative opinions fell on various players, although the level of the best player in the Eredivisie last season was pointed out, who was replaced by the young Xavi Simons after 34 minutes after a poor performance.
Joey Veerman became a name repeated in the media of that country because the champion of the local league with PSV He retired from the field in his second start in this tournament after registering 16 losses out of 29 balls he touched added to the 9 successful passes out of 19 he attempteda number that left him in a meager 47% correct. This tactical decision before the end of the first half was a reason for consultation for the coach, Ronald Koemanwho did not hold back: “What was wrong with him? I don’t know either and you have to ask him himself how that substitution affected him. But We lost so many balls that something had to happen. As a coach, you have to intervene when we play like that. He lost a lot of balls and was left standing still once again. That was inexplicable to me, as passing is usually his quality.”.
The former Barcelona coach clarified that he “could have replaced more” players and, in that vein, he was accompanied by the starting midfielder Jerdy Schouten after the setback in Berlin: “Veerman’s change? We were all bad, the coach could have changed the eleven”. In his self-criticism, Koeman remarked that they defended like “headless chickens” and noted: “It is my responsibility, because I chose these players. I’m disappointed in myself”.
These words did not divert the focus from Veermanwho He left the field very frustrated and appeared completely dejected in the substitute bench seat.. The sports portal MonEsport He echoed these images and said that he sees it “drying tears”, while trying to hide his face with his hands, as if aware of his poor performance.
The Dutch media were lapidary with the 25-year-old man, who debuted in the national team last year and has accumulated one goal and four assists in 13 games. One of the harshest voices was a historic national emblem like Rafael van der Vaart (he played more than 100 matches for the Netherlands) in statements released by the Spanish newspaper ACE: “I felt sorry for him. I was glad they took him away because it was so sad to see him play.”.
On the other hand, the local television analyst, Pierre van Hooijdonkemphasized his two starts in the competition, since he had also started from the beginning in the debut with a victory against Poland: “A player knows when the championship is over for him. He had two opportunities (to play for the national team) and he didn’t take advantage of them. Then he has to go to the back of the queue, that’s how it works.”.
In this way, the newspaper journalist From TelegraphValentijn Driessen, summed up: “It was really dramatic for Veerman. I don’t think he will play in this tournament or for the national team again. Koeman can be very harsh in that sense. The orange jersey is too heavy for Veerman”.
Former Feyenoord coach Arie Haan did the scoring for that newspaper and He rated it with a 4, the lowest compared to his peers. He justified it this way: “We come to the real problem of the Orange. We don’t have a midfield. Koeman thought at some point that Veerman, Schouten and Reijnders could do it. But they have completely collapsed. To start with Veerman, it makes a world of difference whether he can play freely in his club, PSV, or whether he has to be there in the Dutch national team. He is a good player, but I doubt that Veerman is sane and believes enough in his qualities.He proved himself at his club, he hadn’t done it here yet and that was a different pressure. Everyone in the Orange “He was busy with his own role and in the center of the field no one is capable of being important.”
* The summary of the Netherlands’ defeat against Austria
It is worth remembering, this selection lost Frenkie de Jong and Teun Koopmeiners in the run-up to the Euro Cup and, having been chosen as the best player in the Eredivisie, there were many hopes placed on Joey Veerman, which do not pay off in the exhibited performance. For now, there is one place where you still have support: Volendam.
The city’s eponymous club is where Veerman came up as a footballer and some fans maintain their approval of him.Give Joey another chance and he’ll be there.”, asked a resident of the place for 45 years. Others point to the poor level of the steering wheel Georginio Wijnaldumex-Liverpool now at Al Ettifaq of Saudi Arabia, while another person opened up: “Koeman will not give him another chance, he will stay with the old guard until the end”.
The coach avoided referring to his continuity if the Netherlands are eliminated next Tuesday against Romania, beyond the fact that he has a contract until 2026. He admitted that the collective performance against Austria was “very mediocre” and told what happened in the locker room: “Many things were said afterwards, but by then the damage was already done.”.
The Orange will have to cope with this internal climate for the final stretch of the competition with the certainty of having fallen on a friendly side of the draw because avoided bogeymen of the stature of Germany, Spain and Portugal until the final (on that side it was also France), they could have a rematch with Austria in the quarterfinals and only in the semis would they face the current champion (Italy) or the last runner-up (England), both with bad news in terms of football.
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This is how the Euro Cup round of 16 ended:
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