Ronald Koeman defended his Netherlands side after their comeback victory over Turkey in Saturday’s European Championship quarter-final, saying that “people think we don’t have that heart… but the players showed it.”
Despite going behind to Samet Akaydin’s header, the Netherlands won 2-1 after a set-piece scored by Stefan de Vrij and an own goal from Mert Muldur. Bart Verbruggen also produced an remarkable late save from Semih Kilicsoy.
They will now face England in the semi-final in Dortmund on Wednesday. Asked about his pride in the achievement, Koeman focused the attention on the perception of his players’ motivation.
“I think for the whole nation it’s something special,” he replied. “We’re a small nation and we’re part of the semi-final with England, France and Spain. We’re really proud to have the opportunity to play it on Wednesday.
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“(Tonight) was a really emotional match and we had a big heart, and sometimes we get criticised about that, (people say) that we don’t have that (heart) compared to other nations. The players showed it in the second-half, and the last five minutes. You probably saw that better from the TV than I did from the bench. We had to suffer.”
De Vrij’s header dragged the Netherlands back into the match with 20 minutes left. Post-match, the Inter Milan centre-back was asked for his thoughts on meeting England next, given that both sides have struggled for fluency throughout the tournament.
“It definitely means a lot to us as a team,” he replied. “First of all, to reach the semi-finals is great for us, but it’s not finished yet. From tomorrow we will start to prepare for this very important game.
“I think that England has a great team, they have so much quality, but so do we. The Netherlands against England is a very nice game and in the semi-final of the Euros? It’ll be a great match.”
(Dan Mullan/Getty Images)
