#广场预测世界杯赢40000U

Netherlands eliminated in penalty shootout, player ratings released, Koeman still can't break the no-crown curse

When Gakpo poked the ball into Morocco's goal in the 72nd minute, the Dutch substitutes were just starting to rise from their seats. On the sidelines, Koeman clutched his tactic board without moving, only lifting his eyes to glance at the stoppage time board held up by the fourth official.

No one expected that Diop would get to the ball in the box in the first minute of stoppage time and level the score at 1-1.

In extra time, Verbruggen saved Rahim's one-on-one chance, dragging the match into a penalty shootout.

In the end, the Netherlands lost 2-3 on penalties, 3-4 on aggregate to Morocco, stopping in the Round of 16 of the 2026 World Cup.

After the match, the starting lineup ratings were released. Verbruggen got the highest score of 8.2, and that save in extra time was the foundation that kept the Netherlands in the game until penalties.

In defense, Van Hecke and captain Van Dijk both scored 6.9, Ake 6.7. The entire defensive line wasn't outstanding, but didn't make big mistakes either.

The four midfielders all had relatively low scores. Dumfries with 6.3 was the lowest among starters, Gravenberch and Van de Ven both 6.5, and Frenkie de Jong's 6.8 was already the highest in midfield.

In attack, Summerville 6.5, Brobbey 6.9, and goalscorer Gakpo only got 6.9 as well.

Koeman used a five-man defense in this match. It was the first time he didn't use a four-man defense since the Netherlands lost 1-2 to Germany in March 2024. Before that, the Dutch had started with a four-man defense for 31 consecutive matches. The change was because Morocco is indeed a tough opponent. Looking at the post-match tactics, you couldn't fault them, they just couldn't withstand the penalty shootout.

This is the third consecutive World Cup where the Netherlands has been eliminated on penalties.

In 1998, they lost 2-4 on penalties to Brazil in the semifinals. In 2014, they beat Costa Rica 4-3 on penalties in the quarterfinals, then lost 2-4 to Argentina in the semifinals of the same tournament. In 2022, they lost 3-4 on penalties to Argentina in the quarterfinals. Adding this round of 16 loss 2-3 on penalties to Morocco, the Netherlands' overall World Cup penalty shootout record is 1 win and 4 losses, a 20% win rate, tied with Spain for the highest loss rate among all teams that have participated in at least three World Cup penalty shootouts.

Italy was the only previous team to be eliminated on penalties in three consecutive World Cups, failing to get past the 12-yard spot in 1990, 1994, and 1998.

This penalty shootout also had a previously unseen record: it was the first World Cup penalty shootout where the two teams combined for 3 shots hitting the post and 1 shot missing the target.

Koeman took over the Dutch team for the second time in January 2023, and up to this match, he has managed 36 games with 20 wins, 8 draws, and 8 losses.

Adding his first tenure from 2018 to 2020 with 11 wins, 5 draws, and 4 losses, his two terms total 56 matches: 31 wins, 13 draws, 12 losses, a win rate of 55.4%.

Looking at Koeman's record in his second stint, one stat is very clear: against teams ranked in the top 25 in the world, the Netherlands' record is 0 wins, 6 draws, and 8 losses.

The last time the Netherlands beat a top-25 team was when Van Gaal led them at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, a 2-1 win over the USA, who were ranked 16th at the time.

After losing 0-1 to Spain in extra time in the 2010 World Cup final and finishing as runners-up, the Netherlands went 16 consecutive World Cup matches without a loss (10 wins, 6 draws), but in three World Cups they were all eliminated in penalty shootouts.

After this win, Morocco became the third African team to reach the Round of 16 in two consecutive World Cups, following Nigeria (1994, 1998) and Ghana (2006, 2010).

In the previous World Cup, they eliminated Spain and beat Portugal, becoming the first African team to reach the World Cup semifinals. They lost 0-2 to France in the semifinal and 1-2 to Croatia in the third-place match to finish fourth. Their form hasn't dropped in this tournament.

The Netherlands' previous record against African teams was 5 wins and 1 draw. This match was the first time they lost to an African team in the World Cup, breaking their streak of 5 matches without defeat against African teams.

After this match, the FIFA rankings of the two teams didn't change. Morocco gained 12.46 points but remains sixth in the world, while the Netherlands remains seventh.