The Netherlands were knocked out of the semi-finals of the European Championship in Germany after losing 1-2 to England, ending their run at the last four. After the match, Rafael van der Vaart, the former Tottenham Hotspur player and Dutch international, launched a scathing attack on the English team, labeling them a “rotten squad,” despite their consecutive appearances in the finals of two European Championships.
The Dutch side had hoped to reach their first major tournament final since 2010 but despite taking an early lead in the opening ten minutes, goals from Harry Kane via a penalty and Watkins’ winner left Koeman’s men heartbroken. As a member of the Netherlands team that finished runners-up in the 2010 World Cup, Van der Vaart felt that England’s style of play and results did not match up to the calibre of talent they possess.
Commenting for Dutch national broadcaster NOS, Van der Vaart said, “What a rotten team England is! They have so many top stars, yet their pace of play is so slow, and they show no ambition on the pitch. Although our Dutch team didn’t create too many clear-cut chances either, we at least tried to make goal-scoring opportunities and managed to create some real danger a few times.”
Another former Dutch international and co-commentator, Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink, also expressed his anger, “England should be thanking referee Zwayer, whose performance was abysmal; he needs to be put on a blacklist. Apart from the penalty decision, Gakpo’s fair challenge in the second half was wrongly called as a foul, and this incident occurred just ten meters away from the linesman. These details are crucial in determining the course of the game.”
