The Netherlands were defeated 1-2 by England in the semi-finals of the European Championship in Germany, sadly ending their journey in the tournament. After the match, former Dutch international Rafael van der Vaart, who played for Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League, launched a scathing attack on England, calling the team that has reached the final in two consecutive European Championships “a terrible team.”
The Netherlands hoped to reach the final of a major tournament for the first time since 2010. Although they took the lead within the first 10 minutes, Harry Kane’s penalty and Bukayo Saka’s winning goal sent Koeman’s team home disappointed. As a member of the 2010 World Cup runners-up, Van der Vaart believes England’s performance and achievements do not reflect the level of talent at their disposal.
Van der Vaart, who was a commentator for Dutch broadcaster NOS, said: “England is such a terrible team! They have so many top-class stars, but their pace is so slow, they are just not willing to do anything on the pitch. Although we Dutch didn’t have many clear chances, we at least tried to create them, and we were threatening a few times.”
Another former Dutch international, Jan van Hooijdonk, who was also a commentator, expressed his anger: “England should thank referee Felix Zwayer. His performance was terrible and he needs to be blacklisted. Apart from the penalty, Gakpo made a fair physical challenge in the second half, which he also penalized. The assistant referee was just 10 meters away from the incident. These details are crucial to the course of the game.”
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