Netherlands backlash grows after Morocco shootout loss

Pierre van Hooijdonk did not hide his anger after Netherlands went out to Morocco on penalties. He said the approach left him “so sick to my stomach”, and Rafael van der Vaart was just as direct about Ronald Koeman’s decisions. The criticism was not only about the shootout. It was about the way the Dutch set-up looked long before the first penalty was taken.

Koeman's switch and the penalty miss

One reported flashpoint was Koeman’s move to a five-at-the-back system for the first time in 32 games. That change drew immediate backlash because it was read as caution rather than control, and the result only sharpened that view. Van Hooijdonk said, “Morocco was two classes better. But when you see that it actually doesn't work, you have to come up with something else.”

The shootout then made the argument worse. Netherlands missed three penalties, and van Hooijdonk even pointed to Koeman’s own record from his playing days, saying he had taken 1,423 penalties and scored them all. It was a pointed way of saying the manager should know better than to tinker so far from the team’s usual rhythm.

De Jong and the wider Dutch reaction

Rafael van der Vaart kept the focus on the manager, saying: “What goes through your head as a coach then, that makes you think: we have to play Morocco and we're going to do things completely differently? I really don't understand a damn thing about that.” He also turned on Frenkie de Jong, calling it “the worst match I have ever seen from him.” De Jong still played 110 minutes before being substituted, so this was not about a player being missing, it was about a performance judged far below his level.

Z. Ibrahimović went even further on identity. “Koeman looked like an Italian coach today, playing not to lose,” he said. “When the Dutch team plays, they play to win. If you are going to lose, at least you lose with your identity; you don't change it.” That is the core of the backlash. The Dutch legends are not just annoyed by the defeat, they think the team abandoned what it was supposed to be.

There is a defence from Virgil van Dijk, who said, “So the game plan worked, of course.” But the reaction around him is much harsher, and the numbers do not help his case. Netherlands had 62% possession, Morocco had 38%, and the Dutch still went out after missing three penalties. Control of the ball did not turn into enough control of the match.

The bigger issue now is not just the result, but the direction Koeman chose before it. The Dutch had the ball, the changes were cautious, and the shootout punished them. That leaves van Hooijdonk, van der Vaart and Ibrahimovic sounding less like outliers and more like the dominant voice around Netherlands vs Morocco.