Koeman demands more from profligate Dutch

Netherlands boss Ronald Koeman was not impressed with his side's quality in possession during Monday's 1-1 draw with Italy in Turin.

Koeman's side enjoyed plenty of time on the ball against the Azzurri at the Allianz Stadium but struggled to put their hosts under enough pressure.

That is something the Dutch head coach is keen to improve on as they prepare to watch the World Cup from home, the Netherlands having missed out on qualifying for a second successive major tournament.

"We had a lot of trouble finding our way forward," said Koeman. "We had a lot of possession, but mostly in our defence.

"That's where you don't want to have to ball, you want to play forward.

"There wasn't a lot of movement and it was hard to find Ryan Babel and Memphis [Depay].

"Plus, the fact that we were so sloppy in possession. We gave the ball away, even when there was no pressure from Italy."

 

4 June 2018

Midfielder Kevin Strootman acknowledged their performance left plenty of room for improvement, with their next international fixture against Peru in September.

"We have a young team. We have to improve a lot," he said. "We have to be a team every game. 

"Sometimes we are not playing as a team. This is our problem. We need time but we have to be ready after the break. 

"[The] Nations League is going to start and we have the qualifying then. We do not want to miss the next tournament. We want to play the European Championship."