Dutch coach proud despite Oranje's last minute loss against Germany

By Janene Pieters on March 25, 2019 - 13:40
Football
Football. (Photo: ArturVerkhovetskiy/DepositPhotos)

Despite the Netherlands suffering a 2-3 defeat against Germany in the European Championship qualifier on Sunday, Dutch coach Ronald Koeman is still very proud of his team. After ending the first half 0-2 behind the German team, Oranje made a major comeback in the second half. "I am proud of how we played in the second half. We were 2-0 behind. Then you can just give up, but we played great", Koeman said to NOS.

German players Leroy Sane and Serge Gnabry each scored a goal during the first half of the match in the Johan Cruijff Arena in Amsterdam. In the second half the Dutch team caught up, thanks to goals by Matthijs de Ligt and Memphis Depay. But the match went to Germany with a last goal scored by Nico Schulz. 

"It could have gone either way. We won against Germany last year in the Nations League, but it could have been the same", Koeman said. "From ending in a draw, we could have lost there. Now we could have won, but we lost. It is that close together. I think that is also worth a compliment for the Netherlands."

After the defeat against Germany, the Netherlands is now in third place in Group C with three points from two games. Northern Ireland and Germany are in first and second place, with six points and three points respectively, according to NU.nl. 

The next qualifier for the European Championships 2020 that the Netherlands will play is on September 6th, again against Germany. This match will be played in Hamburg, followed by a match against Estonia in Tallinn three days later. In between the Netherlands will play in the semi-final for the Nations League against England in June. 

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