"First of all, I'm going to line up my thoughts. Maybe I'll come to a conclusion by noon." That's not the language of a man who plans to stay. Ronald Koeman is expected to resign as Netherlands head coach within days, and frankly, Monday's exit against Morocco in Monterrey made the decision for him.
The Dutch lost on penalties in the first knockout round — a brutal end to a tournament in which they never looked convincing. Koeman's response to Morocco was to field five defenders, abandon any semblance of Dutch identity, and produce just one scoring opportunity across 120 minutes. The press called it an "80% mentality." That's a polite way of saying the Netherlands showed up half-committed to a World Cup knockout game.
Abandoning the Dutch school
That's where the real damage is. Dutch football has an identity. Attacking, technical, aggressive in possession. Koeman buried it. Playing five at the back against Morocco didn't just cost a game — it cost credibility. Home newspaper Algemeen Dagblad called it a performance ranging from "sluggish, aimless passing" to the odd moment of life, then back to a defensive crouch. One reporter in the post-match press conference told Koeman directly that his team had looked scared. Koeman was visibly irritated. He defended the strategy. Nobody was convinced.
The comparison to Louis van Gaal stings. Four years ago in Qatar, the Netherlands made the quarter-finals. This edition? Out in the round of 16, beaten by a side ranked outside the top 25 on penalties. Under Koeman's second stint, the Dutch couldn't beat a single FIFA top-25 nation throughout Euro 2024 — a tournament they still somehow reached the semifinals of.
This is Koeman's second time in charge. The first ended in August 2020 when he left mid-job to take over at Barcelona. That return was already a risk. Now, with the Dutch media turning, the dressing room questions mounting, and no convincing performance to point to, there's no runway left.
Netherlands' next managerial odds are worth watching closely — the job is prestigious, complicated, and almost certainly about to be vacant by Tuesday afternoon.
