MONTERREY — Ronald Koeman did not mince words on Sunday. The Netherlands and Morocco, two teams that went deep in the last World Cup, are meeting in the Round of 32 on Monday. And the Dutch coach thinks that is a damn shame.
“It’s a big thing for this game to take place now because we are both teams that ought to go further than this stage,” Koeman said. “It’s a very important match between two teams that want to go as far as possible in the tournament and a match of this nature comes a little too soon.”
He’s not wrong. Four years ago, Morocco became the first African and Arab side to reach the semifinals. The Dutch came within a penalty shootout of knocking out eventual champions Argentina in the quarterfinals. Two top-eight teams meeting this early? That feels like a scheduling quirk for the ages.
But Koeman wasn’t here to complain endlessly. He promised an aggressive approach. “We’re going to be playing offensively,” he said. “It’ll be a very attractive match.”
Captain Virgil van Dijk stood next to his coach, looking completely unbothered by the matchup. He singled out Morocco’s star right back Achraf Hakimi as one of the best in world football. He also pointed to PSV forward Ismael Saibari — who just had a monster season in the Eredivisie — and Real Madrid attacker Brahim Diaz as players to watch.
And then there is the kid. Eighteen-year-old Ayyoub Bouaddi has emerged as one of the breakout stars of this tournament and is in the conversation for the Young Player award. Van Dijk mentioned him by name, calling him “the defensive midfielder breaking through now, a young guy who’s doing well.”
The Dutch have spent two sessions breaking down Morocco’s system. They know what is coming. They aren’t scared.
“They have a lot of talent, but so do we,” Koeman said. “We know where it is that we need to stop them, break them down. We are not worried.”
Van Dijk shrugged off the idea that beating Morocco convincingly would send some kind of message to the rest of the field. “I don’t think we have to put any statements down,” he said. “It is a fantastic game for a neutral to go and watch. For us, it’s just the reality. We are here now. We prepare for Morocco.”
Monday’s match in Monterrey is the last of three knockout games on the day. It is the one everyone will be watching. Two teams that expected to be playing deeper into the tournament instead meet in the first elimination round. One of them goes home. The other keeps dreaming.
That is the kind of pressure that makes World Cups memorable. Koeman just wishes it came later.
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