For Pierre van Hooijdonk, the defeat in the farewell match against Algeria is not bad news for the Netherlands. The former international maintains that the defeat comes at the right time for Ronald Koeman to toughen his speech and refine the group's competitiveness.
It was the first time that the Dutch team lost a game in the 90 minutes since the 2-1 defeat to Germany, in the Nations League, on October 14, 2024. And it also lost a 22-year unbeaten run in farewell games. On Wednesday, Algeria was stronger.
“I think this is very good,” Van Hooijdonk told NOS, highlighting that he saw a particularly stung Koeman. According to the analyst, this type of shake-up allows the coach to “pound his fist on the table” in conversations with the team and make it clear that he is not satisfied. "Some need it; they have to be pulled by the ears at the right time," he added.
After the meeting, Koeman also made amends to some players. One of them was Jorrel Hato, a left-back introduced in the second half, who the coach asked to “use his head more”.