Koeman: Netherlands proved they have heart in comeback win over Turkiye

Reaching the semi-finals at Euro 2024 proves just how much “heart” the Netherlands have, so says Ronald Koeman.

The Netherlands came from behind to beat Turkiye 2-1 on Saturday thanks to a header from Stefan de Vrij and Mert Muldur’s own goal in Berlin.

That victory set up a semi-final clash with England in Dortmund on Wednesday.

And Koeman suggested his team have proved their doubters wrong with the spirit they have shown through their run to the last four.

“I think for the whole nation it’s something special,” he said, as quoted by The Athletic.

“We’re a small nation and we’re part of the semi-finals with England, France and Spain. We’re really proud to have the opportunity to play it on Wednesday.

“It was a really emotional match and we had a big heart, and sometimes we get criticised about that, that we don’t have that heart compared to other nations.

“The players showed it in the second half, and the last five minutes. You probably saw that better from the TV than I did from the bench. We had to suffer.”

Some excellent goalkeeping from Bart Verbruggen and brilliant last-ditch defending from the Oranje as a team helped them keep Turkiye at bay after Muldur bundled into his own net under pressure from Cody Gakpo in the 76th minute.

3385 – There were 3385 days between Stefan de Vrij’s goal against Türkiye and his previous goal against Spain in 2015 (9 years, 97 days), the second-longest period between goals for an @OnsOranje player, after Ryan Babel’s (3481 – 9 years, 174 days between 2008 and 2017). Timely. pic.twitter.com/WtovB9IEiO

— OptaJohan (@OptaJohan) July 6, 2024

De Vrij’s equaliser was his first goal for the Netherlands since March 2015, and the centre-back is now relishing a meeting with England, who scraped past Switzerland on penalties.

“It definitely means a lot to us as a team,” he said.

“First of all, to reach the semi-finals is great for us, but it’s not finished yet. From tomorrow we will start to prepare for this very important game.

“I think that England has a great team, they have so much quality, but so do we. The Netherlands against England is a very nice game and in the semi-final of the Euros? It’ll be a great match.”