Netherlands boss Ronald Koeman admitted he should have settled for a point with a defensive substitution before Germany netted their late winner.

Netherlands battled back from 2-0 down at the break to make it 2-2 but eventually lost to a 90th minute goal.

Koeman told NOS after the game, “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. That’s why I chose Quincy Promes as 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.

Koeman admitted he was thinking of making a defensive substitution before the end, “We have discussed various scenarios. I wanted to bring in Nathan Aké for Quincy Promes to get the point. Maybe I should have done that.”

“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.”




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