Disappointing Netherlands team spoiling the Oranje fans’ party at Euro 2024
Virgil van Dijk of the Netherlands reacts during a Group D match between Netherlands and Austria at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Berlin, Germany, Tuesday, June 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)[ASSOCIATED PRESS/Ebrahim Noroozi]
BERLIN (AP) — The Netherlands’ soccer team is becoming a party-pooper for its thousands of exuberant orange-clad fans at the European Championship. The Oranje have impressed off the field but not on it at Euro 2024, where Ronald Koeman’s team limped into the knockout stage after finishing third in Group D. Koeman was a key defender on the Dutch team that won Euro ’88 in West Germany and he’s back for his second stint as coach. But he’s clearly unhappy with his charges, who are maintaining a longstanding Dutch tradition of disappointing at major tournaments. Koeman has called for a response in the Netherlands’ next match, against Romania in the round of 16.
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