Shocked Koeman Says Dutch Need Drastic Improvement After Horror Week

Netherland's national coach Ronald Koeman attends a press conference of the Dutch national team at KNVB Campus in Zeist on March 26, 2023, on the even of the UEFA Euro 2024 Group B qualification match between Netherlands and Gibraltar at the de Kuip Stadium in Rotterdam. (AFP)
Netherland's national coach Ronald Koeman attends a press conference of the Dutch national team at KNVB Campus in Zeist on March 26, 2023, on the even of the UEFA Euro 2024 Group B qualification match between Netherlands and Gibraltar at the de Kuip Stadium in Rotterdam. (AFP)
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Shocked Koeman Says Dutch Need Drastic Improvement After Horror Week

Netherland's national coach Ronald Koeman attends a press conference of the Dutch national team at KNVB Campus in Zeist on March 26, 2023, on the even of the UEFA Euro 2024 Group B qualification match between Netherlands and Gibraltar at the de Kuip Stadium in Rotterdam. (AFP)
Netherland's national coach Ronald Koeman attends a press conference of the Dutch national team at KNVB Campus in Zeist on March 26, 2023, on the even of the UEFA Euro 2024 Group B qualification match between Netherlands and Gibraltar at the de Kuip Stadium in Rotterdam. (AFP)

Irritated Netherlands coach Ronald Koeman said he was shocked by his team's performance in his first week back in charge of the national side and drastic improvement is needed.

It was not the return Koeman was looking for at the start of his second stint after replacing Louis van Gaal as the Dutch got off to lukewarm start in the Euro 2024 qualifiers.

"We have to improve, I'm quite shocked by what I have seen," he said.

A virus saw five players drop out last week before they went to Paris and were handed a sobering 4-0 thumping by France. Hopes of a spirited response in Monday's match against minnows Gibraltar did not materialize.

Although the Dutch won 3-0 at the Feyenoord Stadium, with two goals from defender Nathan Ake, Koeman made no effort to hide his dissatisfaction.

"It was not good, I'm quite disappointed. It really must be better. We also need to get fitter. This was really too little," Koeman told reporters.

He had hoped for better. "It was a bad week, a lot of players got sick at first. Then we lost heavily to France and even against Gibraltar it was not enough. It will have to get better soon.

"I've never had such a week in my previous national coaching stint and I hope that it doesn't happen again either."

The Dutch had their changes against the team ranked 200 with 72% possession and 49 attempts on goal but were stymied by stout defense, although Koeman did not want to use that as an excuse.

"It is difficult but, of course we did score enough goals. I found we were imprecise from the start, sloppy at times. With a little more sharpness, more goals would have been scored. It was much less than I had hoped for."

The Dutch will need to make a major step up because they are next in action in the Nations League in June, which they host. They play Croatia in Rotterdam on June 14 and will go into either the final or third-place playoff against Italy or Spain four days later.

"These are major opponents and I think it will be important that we have a full squad."

The Dutch played without key midfielder Frenkie de Jong against France and Gibraltar.

"And Cody Gakpo and Matthijs De Ligt couldn't play a whole match, and Memphis Depay got injured," said Koeman. "But our level will have to go up. Too many players did not play well enough."



Naomi Osaka Loses to Karolina Muchova in US Open Second Round  

Japan's Naomi Osaka reacts during her women's singles second round tennis match against Czech Republic's Karolina Muchova on day four of the US Open tennis tournament at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City, on August 29, 2024. (AFP)
Japan's Naomi Osaka reacts during her women's singles second round tennis match against Czech Republic's Karolina Muchova on day four of the US Open tennis tournament at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City, on August 29, 2024. (AFP)
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Naomi Osaka Loses to Karolina Muchova in US Open Second Round  

Japan's Naomi Osaka reacts during her women's singles second round tennis match against Czech Republic's Karolina Muchova on day four of the US Open tennis tournament at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City, on August 29, 2024. (AFP)
Japan's Naomi Osaka reacts during her women's singles second round tennis match against Czech Republic's Karolina Muchova on day four of the US Open tennis tournament at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City, on August 29, 2024. (AFP)

Seemingly back in her US Open match, suddenly a point from getting to a third set, Naomi Osaka lost her way Thursday night, missing forehand after forehand until she ceded that game and chucked her racket, sending it clattering on the Arthur Ashe Stadium court.

Not much later, she was out of the tournament, eliminated 6-3, 7-6 (5) by Karolina Muchova in the second round of an event where Osaka won two of her four Grand Slam titles.

“It's a little rough, because I do take these losses really personally. It’s like a dramatic word, but I feel like my heart dies every time I lose,” said Osaka, the champion at Flushing Meadows in 2018 and 2020, and at the Australian Open in 2019 and 2021. “It sucks a lot, but I’ve been trying to be more mature and learn and talk more about them.”

Osaka — once ranked No. 1 but now No. 88 after missing nearly 1 1/2 years because of mental health breaks and time off to have a baby — struggled for much of the early going, dropping five consecutive games and 22 of 26 points in one stretch.

But she played much better in the second set, getting her only break of the match to lead 5-4 and yelling “Come on!” when Muchova netted a forehand. The crowd roared for Osaka.

Serving for that set, Osaka hit a 119 mph ace, her fastest of the match, to lead 40-love. That gave her three chances to extend the match to a third set. That's when Osaka really faltered, making five forehand errors, with a double-fault mixed in, to waste all three of those set points and, worse, get broken.

“During the pressure moments, I got nervous, and I don’t know if I just have to keep playing more matches and get used to that feeling, especially on a really big stage,” Osaka said. “Honestly, if I get past the disappointment, I feel pretty proud of myself to have gotten that many opportunities while still feeling like I could have played much better.”

When they got to the tiebreaker, it was Muchova who asserted herself, then used some scrambling defense on the last point, flinging the ball back over the net and seeing Osaka send a swinging volley out.

“This is unbelievable — the atmosphere and the people. This is crazy energy,” said Muchova, a 28-year-old from the Czech Republic.

She enjoyed a breakout season in 2023, reaching the final at the French Open before losing to Iga Swiatek, and the semifinals at the US Open before exiting against eventual champion Coco Gauff. But shortly after that run at Flushing Meadows, Muchova left the tour because of an injured right wrist and she had surgery in October.

She was sidelined until this June; her Grand Slam return was a first-round loss at Wimbledon last month.

“Honestly, this year, the biggest win for me is that I could play again,” Muchova said. “This is just a cherry on top, to be here again, in this stadium.”

On this brisk evening, with the temperature dipping to 70 degrees after topping 90 on Wednesday afternoon, Muchova did not look at all like someone who is currently ranked 52nd.

Using a pen to jot down thoughts in a notebook during changeovers, Osaka was never able to seize control of the on-court exchanges.

Her groundstrokes were not as perfect as they were during a 6-3, 6-2 victory over 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko on Tuesday. Osaka did not make a single unforced error until the second set of that one, which became her first win against an opponent ranked in the top 10 in more than four years.

But if Osaka played so-so this time, Muchova was the one who looked terrific, whether serve-and-volleying or mixing in slices, finding her spots with serves or turning up the power when she wanted.

From the moment Osaka went ahead 3-2 at the start, everything went in Muchova's direction through the end of that set. And just as it seemed Osaka was getting back into the contest — with thousands of spectators supporting her — her forehand let her down.