Ronald Koeman Reveals Who Is to Blame for Netherlands' Last Minute Loss Against Germany
Netherlands manager Ronald Koeman has admitted that his side should have taken at least a point in their Euro 2020 qualifier against Germany, and has placed the blame on himself for their defeat.
The Dutch were 2-0 down at half time after a disappointing first half, before equalising just after the hour mark courtesy of goals from Matthijs de Ligt and Memphis Depay.
With Koeman's side looking for a winner, a 90th minute Nico Schulz goal gave Germany their first victory on Dutch soil in 23 years.
“We have discussed various scenarios," Koeman told NOS after the game at the Johan Cruyff Arena, as reported by Footballoranje.com.
"I wanted to bring in Nathan Aké for Quincy Promes to get the point. Maybe I should have done that.
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“We got chances on the 3-2 and when you are on the field, you can feel that the 3-2 is in it. In the final phase, the last two to three minutes, Germany became more dangerous.
"It shows the mentality that we have continued, that is to be praised, but I did feel that the goal could also fall on the German side.”
The future looks bright for the Dutch national team, with a Nations League semi-final against England to look forward to as well as probable progression to next summer's European Championship.
However, the former Everton and Southampton boss would have been concerned by the lack of experience shown in the first period with Germany's surprise 3-5-2 formation bamboozling the Dutch defence.
He said: “We didn’t start well. Of course we didn’t know exactly how Germany would play. I was not surprised, but it does require a number of adjustments.
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"That’s why I chose Quincy Promes as a left winger and Ryan Babel on the right. But Germany changed very often, that’s just very difficult.
"We wanted to put pressure, but as a result we also came to play with very large spaces. That resulted in a number of dangerous moments, but you must also not forget the two very big chances of ours to make it 1-1."
