Netherlands coach Louis van Gaal hailed the efforts of his squad in preventing again from two targets all the way down to drive their World Cup quarter-final in opposition to Argentina right into a penalty shootout although their final exit proved to be painful.
The Dutch staged a dramatic comeback with two late targets to degree their match 2-2 after the 90 minutes and take the last-eight encounter on the Lusail Stadium into further time, the place the scoreline stayed the identical till the ultimate whistle.
However they squandered their first two penalties and went on to lose the shootout 4-3.
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“I had requested the gamers to coach penalties at their membership they usually did that. It was a unbelievable achievement to return again from 0-2 all the way down to 2-2 however then to lose on penalties is hard,” he mentioned.
“I can not blame myself, I believe, we ready every thing. My gamers fought to the tip and they’re useless within the altering room.
“They gave every thing and I am actually proud, we did not lose in 20 matches,” Van Gaal mentioned of his document in his third spell as Dutch coach after taking up in September final yr.
He now leaves on the finish of his contract.
“Within the shootout we missed the primary two penalties and that put stress on the remainder of the penalty takers. It’s nonetheless a lottery and by chance for them [Argentina] they gained,” he added.
The Dutch didn’t begin the sport effectively, the 71-year-old coach admitted. “The issue is we weren’t capable of finding free man with the ball. I attempted to unravel it at half-time and we then modified our techniques 3 times within the second half.
“We fought unbelievably arduous to return again from a 2-0 deficit in opposition to a strong Argentina who can defend very effectively.”
Van Gaal additionally felt the Dutch misplaced initiative in further time however mentioned this was “logical” attributable to fatigue.
“Within the second half we ran much more than Argentina and there have been just a few gamers on their final legs. We thought we would win on penalties due to the coaching we have completed.”
