Driessen’s verdict: Oranje’s lack of self-reliance cost them against Morocco

In a Monterrey night that ended Oranje’s World Cup run, Cody Gakpo’s first-half strike briefly lit up the Estadio BBVA. The Dutch equaliser arrived in the 90th minute, but Morocco’s late leveller forced extra time and, ultimately, a shoot-out defeat. The Netherlands exited the tournament on penalties for the second straight World Cup. Journalist Valentijn Driessen, speaking on *Kick-off*, reserved his harshest criticism for the Dutch team’s playing philosophy under Ronald Koeman. The 5-2-3 formation, he argued, exposed a lack of adaptability and self-reliance among the players. "The players all think they’re very good," Driessen said. "They constantly claim to have so many qualities and say they’re a tight-knit group, but there was little to no evidence of that on the pitch." He pointed to the absence of any player willing to challenge Koeman’s tactical choices, even when the system clearly failed. "After 23 minutes there’s a drinks break. No one says, ‘We need to change things.’ That mentality isn’t present in this group. They’re all ideal sons who follow Koeman’s instructions to the letter—and then you end up like this, out of the tournament."

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Driessen dismissed the idea that the system change was a player-led decision. "It was discussed with the players, but it came from Koeman," he said. "He said everyone eventually agreed. But during the press conference, I got the impression not everyone was enthusiastic. I haven’t spoken to the players directly, so I don’t know exactly what happened. But you don’t need a coach to impose this. You can make decisions on the pitch—but this team isn’t self-reliant. They’re followers." He compared Oranje’s performance to a diluted version of Inter Milan’s catenaccio from the 1960s: "While Morocco played in the Dutch school, the Netherlands reverted to a poor imitation of defensive football."

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Mike Verweij joined the critique, arguing that the defeat wasn’t just a loss but a reputational one. "Not only did the Netherlands lose, they lost face," he said. "Zlatan Ibrahimović and Thierry Henry both commented on it—that’s serious. Dutch football became great through attractive, dominant, attacking football. Oranje scored ten times in the group stage. Yet Koeman, after 31 matches without doing so, chose to play with five defenders. Completely incomprehensible." Driessen’s conclusion was unequivocal: "The Netherlands are humiliated by Koeman’s choices. There’s no other option but to say goodbye to the head coach."