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Netherlands' coach Ronald Koeman rued the 1-0 warm-up loss to Algeria ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026 and said the defeat serves as a "wake-up call" before the showpiece event, according to Reuters.
Algeria scored a late winner through Anis Hadj Moussa in the 86th minute to clinch the warm-up fixture. Notably, the defeat came on the eve of the Dutch squad's departure for New York, where they are set to play another friendly against World Cup debutants Uzbekistan on Monday. Koeman said the Netherlands' defeat to Algeria was a "wake-up call" ahead of the World Cup. He stressed that winning always feels better and losing is never positive, but added that there is no need to panic. "Winning always gives you a certain feeling. Losing is simply bad. We certainly don't need to panic now, but we do need to dot the i's and cross the t's again. You could call it a wake-up call," he said as quoted by Reuters. Koeman said he hates losing and that the Netherlands should have won the match. He added that the team must be winning such home games. "I absolutely hate losing; this was a match we should have won. We have to win these kinds of home matches; our (ranking) position demands it," Koeman. Koeman said the eighth-ranked Netherlands controlled the first 25 minutes against Algeria and created several good chances, but failed to maintain their momentum and allowed the game to slip away. "Because you don't put the game to bed within those first 25 minutes, you end up playing against yourselves. If you get four or five clear chances, you have to score. And even if that doesn't happen, it shouldn't become a problem," he said. "But after that, we started making things more difficult for ourselves. At times we lacked aggression and were simply too nice," he added. The Netherlands will begin their World Cup campaign on June 14 against Japan at Dallas Stadium. They will then face Sweden on June 20 at Houston Stadium before concluding their group-stage matches against Tunisia on June 25 at Kansas City Stadium. (ANI)
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