Netherlands head coach Louis van Gaal felt the penalty awarded against Argentina in the second half was not conclusive enough in the penalty shootout defeat in the World Cup quarterfinals.
Argentina captain Lionel Messi converted from the spot after Marcos Acuna was brought down in the box by Denzel Dumfries.
“The penalty against us was awarded rather easily. Their other goal was fantastic with a great pass from Messi. We were 15 cm taller and they knew that. We scored from a free kick which we had trained for. They played for time and the correct time was not added,” said Van Gaal.
The Netherlands came back from two goals down to equalise dramatically in the 10th minute of stoppage time to take the game into extra time. The teams couldn’t be separated for another 30 minutes before Argentina won 3-2 in the spotkicks.
Talking about the game, the Dutchman said, “When we had ball possession during the first half, we couldn’t find a free body. Later I proceeded to a 4-4-1-1 and 4-4-2 formation and Argentina had to adjust, and we equalised. This is the second time we lose to them on penalties with the same head coach. Players trained and practised and I don’t want to reproach them.”
He added, “Second half we run more than Argentina and there were few players who were really tired, and we saw that in the extra time. We thought we will be able to win on penalties.”
Van Gaal heads into retirement once again, after the 71-year-old made a U-turn to manage the Orange for the third time in his career last year. “I’m leaving behind an excellent group. This is a team that is close and has great team spirit and good football skills. We were unbeaten for 20 games for a reason,” he said. On criticism of the team’s playing style, he said, “If you don’t have players like [Marc] Overmars you want to keep the pitch wide, and we didn’t have them and we solved that problem by playing a different kind of game.”
“The boys fought until the bitter end and now they are feeling despondent. I don’t think I was beaten today, it was only in penalty shootout,” he signed off.
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