Dutch football squad ripped to shreds after loss to Czech Republic

The Dutch football team losing to the Czech Republic and therefore its elimination from the European Championship in France next year, was major news on the websites of almost all major European and other international sports newspapers. Marca called it "historically ridiculous", ESPN spoke of an "implosion of a superpower". All that The Latest News had to say was "poor Oranje". This is the first time since 1984 that Oranje will be missing a European Championship. And the team can not catch a break when it comes to news today. British newspaper Daily Mail was especially harsh. "From World Cup Flyer to to humiliation", the headline of one of the many Oranje related articles today reads on the website. "Total Football? It looks more like total failure" The German Bild led with an old classic: "No orange wigs and shirts in the stadium. No columns of caravans to France: without Holland we're going to the European Championships." French L'Equipe: "Oranje is the main absentee at the European Championships. Coincidentally, the last time the Netherlands was missing, the European Championships were also in France." On the American ESPN football analyst Nick Ames calls Oranje exemplary for a qualification campaign full of errors and inaccuracies. "It was little surprise to those who have seen one of Europe's superpowers self-destruct throughout their 10 Group A fixtures." Spanish media also stopped to consider Oranje's disgrace: "Even with the new format with 24 countries represented Oranje could not prevent catastrophe", Marca writes under the headline "historically ridiculous".