NOS Football•yesterday, 11:53
Jesse Witen
football editor
Jesse Witen
football editor
This has been a recurring statistic for a long time. And if the Netherlands don’t beat Morocco in the World Cup playoffs tonight, it will stay that way for some time. When will the Dutch team beat the leading country again?
The last win against a country ranked in the top 25 of the FIFA rankings was at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar against the United States, then ranked 16th in the world. This is over 1300 days ago.
During Koeman’s second term, the Dutch never won against a top 25 country. It also didn’t work at the start of this World Cup against Japan (2-2). This was the sixth draw. They lost eight times to a top 25 country.
Team Holland against top 25 countries during Koeman’s second term
- 2023: Netherlands-Croatia 2-4 (nv), Netherlands-Italy 2-3, Netherlands-France 1-2
- 2024: Germany-Netherlands 2-1, Netherlands-France 0-0, Netherlands-Austria 2-3, Netherlands-England 1-2, Netherlands-Germany 2-2, Germany-Netherlands 1-0.
- 2025: Netherlands-Spain 2-2, Spain-Netherlands 3-3 (5-4 ns)
- 2026: Netherlands-Ecuador 1-1, Netherlands-Japan 2-2
“I don’t think the brand is that important,” Koeman said at a press conference last night. “Your career and life have ups and downs. Fortunately, in my profession there are many times more ups than downs.”
Koeman experienced such an event in his first term as national team coach. On November 16, 2018, the Dutch team defeated world champions France (2-0) in a twisted Kuip.
Memphis Depay decided the match with Panenka’s penalty. “This is a huge step we took tonight,” Koeman said at the time in Rotterdam. “It was exceptionally good.”
ANPMemphis Depay celebrates his goal against France in 2018
The highlights of Koeman’s second term since January 2023 were mainly the matches last March against leading nation Spain in the Nations League quarter-finals, although they did not result in victory.
These were matches where the Dutch team showed they could compete with the intensity and level of a top match. With two draws and a penalty-kick defeat, the penny didn’t drop that way.
“I’m disappointed but also proud of what we showed in the two games,” Koeman said after the defeat in Valencia. “We lost on penalties, but we played very brave football.”
Latest victories of the Dutch national team over countries from the top 10 FIFA rankings:
NOS
Along with Morocco, the Dutch team will also face a high-level team this evening, a country that has made unprecedented progress in recent years. The Atlas Lions are ranked seventh in the FIFA rankings, one position above even the Dutch national team.
To progress at this World Cup, Team Holland must now truly beat the leading nation. According to captain Virgil van Dijk, this awareness is also present in the group of players.
“We talk about it together sometimes, and I think about it from time to time,” the captain said. “We have to change the situation. What better way to do it than at the World Championships?”
Netherlands-Morocco live on NOS
The Dutch team will play against Morocco in the sixteenth World Cup final on Monday night at 3:00 am Dutch time. The match in Monterrey, Mexico can be watched live via NOS.nl, the NOS app, NPO Start, and can also be followed live on television via NPO 1 and on radio via NPO Radio 1.
For blind and visually impaired spectators, the match will be broadcast with live audio description on the NPO 1 Extra TV channel (channel 81).
