Another favorite in the knockout round of the 2026 World Cup bit the dust Monday.
After Germany was defeated by Paraguay in penalty kicks in a massive upset, another World Cup power received its walking papers early Tuesday as the Netherlands lost to Morocco in penalty kicks.
Perhaps the moment that the Dutch will be thinking about for the next four years is Morocco’s second penalty kick, where Soufiane Rahimi appeared to have his shot blocked.
Bart Verbruggen dove right with both hands and appeared to catch the ball with both hands before it got free and bounced away, trickling past the line for a goal.
That save would have kept the Dutch ahead in penalty kicks, but instead, Morocco was tied and eventually won the shootout after the teams tied 1-1 in regulation and extra time.
“What a way to lose,” Outkick’s Clay Travis posted on X.
The question now begins to swirl for the Netherlands about their coach, Ronald Koeman, and whether he will stick around.
“Is it on my mind yet? I do have my thoughts on that,” Koeman said to Dutch outlet NOS.nl, per Sky Sports. “But it doesn’t seem like the right moment to say anything about it now.”
Koeman is getting crushed by soccer heads for the loss, as the Netherlands looked like one of the best sides in the tournament at one point, scoring 10 goals in group play.
However, he made some strange defensive changes that may have led to the collapse, including a formation change from four defenders to five that is getting critiqued heavily after the loss.
“This loss is on Koeman because I didn’t recognize this Dutch team,” Zlatan Ibrahimovic said postgame.
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This Dutch team failed to reach the Round of 16 for the first time since 2006, while Morocco advanced to play Canada in the Round of 16 in Houston on Saturday.
The Moroccan hero was goalkeeper Yassine Bounou, who made a strong save on a final shot from Crysencio Summerville, batting the ball away with his left hand to secure the win.