‘What a s*** team England are!’: Bitter Dutch rage at the Three Lions after Euro 2024 semi-final defeat… as rivals in Sunday’s final Spain call Gareth Southgate’s men ‘the miracle team’!
The Dutch media have expressed their anger and sadness after the team was defeated 2-1 by England in the semi-finals of Euro 2024 on Wednesday.
The Three Lions reached the final in Berlin in dramatic fashion on Sunday after Ollie Watkins secured victory in the 90th minute, while Harry Kane cancelled out Xavi Simons’ opening goal earlier in the first half.
It was the third consecutive knockout match at the tournament that England won after a dramatic encounter. The Three Lions defeated Slovakia in extra time in the round of 16, before beating Switzerland on penalties in the quarter-finals.
And immediately after the match, anger erupted in the Netherlands, with former international Rafael van der Vaart fiercely attacking Gareth Southgate’s team.
“What a shit team they are,” he said on NOS. “Slowly they didn’t want anything anymore.”
The Dutch media have expressed their anger and sadness after being defeated by England
Ollie Watkins’ dramatic final goal sent the Three Lions through to the Euro 2024 final
Former Dutch star player Rafael van der Vaart (right) criticised England, calling them ‘s**t’
“They have such top players on the pitch. We didn’t do much either. We had a few chances. There could have been so much more.”
Elsewhere, there was understandable outrage over England’s first-half penalty, when Denzel Dumfries was judged by VAR to have fouled Kane.
Dutch media VI stressed that the ‘international press was unanimous about the penalty moment with Dumfries’, while AD reported the ‘surprise in England’ about the decision, while others called it a ‘disgrace’.
Pierre van Hooijdonk, who worked with Van der Vaart for NOS, added: ‘(Referee) Felix Zwayer and the VAR Bastian Dankert: (should be on the) blacklist. Terrible.’
VI reacted angrily and pointed to a possible handball by Saka in the run-up to the penalty.
Meanwhile, AD also explained how the ‘Dutch dream of a European Championship fell apart’ after the dramatic ‘denouement’ in the semi-final against England.
This grief was also shared elsewhere. For example, De Telegraaf wrote that the Dutch ‘dreams were shattered’ after Watkins’ dramatic late goal.
However, De Telegraaf also claimed: ‘The luck had run out for Koeman and the unstable Oranje’, perhaps referring to their journey to the last four after finishing third in their group.
There was a lot of anger in the Dutch media about the English penalty in the first half
Denzel Dumfries was convicted for a foul on Harry Kane as the England captain fired a shot
Some Dutch players were also fierce afterwards, such as Dutch captain Virgil van Dijk, who received a yellow card during the match for a foul and who punched Zwayer.
“I don’t know if I should say anything about that,” he said to be in sports. ‘I told the Dutch media. I think it says enough that the referee went in quite quickly after the match.
‘I didn’t have time to shake his hand. But it is what it is, the game is over, we lost, there were moments when it was clear they should have gone our way, but they didn’t, whatever the outcome.
“It’s hard to accept this. It’s been a tough year. We had a big dream and we felt we could make it come true.”
He continued: ‘They keep changing certain things, small changes that can have a big impact. Maybe it’s good that they can be held accountable too.
‘They didn’t come here to talk to you and explain themselves, like we have to do when we do something wrong.
“That could be something. But I shouldn’t talk about others and we need to look at ourselves.”
Ronald Koeman also reacted angrily to the decision: ‘What do you do as a defender?
‘This is not a penalty. Dumfries wanted to block the ball. Then the shoes collided. Such VAR decisions ruin football.’
But there was also an element of sadness as AD explained how the Dutch ‘dream fell apart’
De Telegraaf claimed that ‘luck had finally run out for Koeman and the unstable Oranje’
Meanwhile, several Spanish newspapers praised England’s resilience and perseverance, but also expressed confidence in beating the Three Lions in the final of Euro 2024.
Marca described England as the team that ‘always stays afloat’, while AS called them ‘the wonder team’.
The Three Lions’ dramatic victory was made even greater when Marca described Watkins as an ‘unexpected hero’.
Elsewhere, El Mundo called Watkins a ‘hero’ and also pointed to Jude Bellingham who will face the country where he plays with his club in the final.
Bellingham has been a revelation since joining Real Madrid and El Mundo described Sunday’s highlight as ‘Bellingham’s one-on-one against Spain’.
Marca also went on a rampage in the run-up to Sunday, apparently hitting out at Phil Foden in connection with Spanish wonderkid Lamine Yamal.
Several Spanish media praised England’s resilience and AS called them the ‘miracle team’
Meanwhile, Marca described the Three Lions as a team that ‘always stays afloat’ after the late drama
Marca also joked about Phil Foden in relation to Spanish attacking prodigy Lamine Yamal
Elsewhere, Watkins was hailed as the “unexpected hero,” while there was a nod to Bellingham
During Spain’s semi-final victory over France, Yamal scored a stunning goal, cutting inside Adrien Rabiot and then curling the ball into the top corner.
Foden also produced a stunning display of skill against the Netherlands, but his shot hit the post. Marca immediately laughed at this, saying: ‘Foden wanted to do the same as Lamine… but it didn’t end up like Yamal.’
Meanwhile, the TV show El Chiringuito seemed to be enjoying the fact that Spain are playing England. They discussed the possible celebrations after winning the European Championship and also highlighted the great talent that Luis de la Fuente has.
The two teams will now compete against each other on Sunday at the Olympiastadion in Berlin. The spectacular match starts at 20:00 GMT.