{"id":770459,"date":"2026-06-30T18:55:18","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T18:55:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/770459\/"},"modified":"2026-06-30T18:55:18","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T18:55:18","slug":"id-do-it-again-ronald-koeman-defiant-in-defeat-after-the-netherlands-sent-home-world-cup-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/770459\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018I\u2019d do it again\u2019: Ronald Koeman defiant in defeat after the Netherlands sent home | World Cup 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

An embattled Ronald Koeman said he will consider his future as manager of the Netherlands<\/a> after they were eliminated from the World Cup by Morocco.<\/p>\n

The Netherlands tumbled out on penalties after a 1-1 draw in the last-32 tie, the pill even more bitter to swallow because they had been leading at the start of added time. Issa Diop cancelled out Cody Gakpo\u2019s goal and, in a spiky post-match press conference, Koeman said he will decide whether to continue his three-and-a-half year tenure, which is his second in charge of the national team.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, I haven\u2019t,\u201d he said, when asked whether he had already handed in his resignation. \u201cI\u2019m going to reflect on my future. This is straight after a game and the disappointment is so fresh in your mind. I\u2019m going to reflect on it and maybe I\u2019ll come to a conclusion by tomorrow morning.\u201d<\/p>\n

Koeman came under fire for selecting a five-man back line and setting up a team that, for long periods, were content to operate on the break.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can think whatever you like but we gave away much less against a team that was stronger than [group stage opponents] Sweden and Tunisia,\u201d he said. \u201cIf I had to do it again I\u2019d do it all the same way. As the Dutch coach when the equaliser is scored I am always going to be scolded for the fact I chose five defenders.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut you criticise, which is your right. You watch from the sidelines, I\u2019m here with the team and, once again, I\u2019d do it again.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Morocco head coach Mohamed Ouahbi admitted he had not expected Koeman\u2019s team to adopt a more defensive posture.<\/p>\n

Fouzi Lekjaa, the President of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation, is lifted into the air by his players. Photograph: Antonio Ojeda\/ZUMA Press Wire\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were taken aback by their formation,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen we saw it we knew they wanted to defend in a low block. That\u2019s not usually how they play and we had to adapt. I saw this type of play as a form of respect.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Ouahbi\u2019s team will face Canada next and are on course to face France, who beat them in the Qatar 2022 semi-finals, in the last eight. Expectation is rising that they can at least emulate their feat four years ago, when they finished fourth.<\/p>\n

\u201cTalk is cheap, it\u2019s what we can do on the pitch that counts,\u201d Ouahbi said. \u201cThe World Cup<\/a> in Qatar changed the mentality of the Moroccan team. We\u2019re unstoppable if we play the football we know how to play, but if we get things wrong we\u2019ll go home.\u201d<\/p>\n

This article was amended on 30 June 2026. An earlier photo caption said it was Morocco\u2019s coach Mohamed Ouahbi being lifted by his players; in fact, it was the Moroccan football president Fouzi Lekjaa.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An embattled Ronald Koeman said he will consider his future as manager of the Netherlands after they were…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":770460,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[43,44,41,39,42,40],"class_list":["post-770459","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/770459","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=770459"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/770459\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/770460"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=770459"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=770459"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=770459"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}