Netherlands coach Ronald Koeman admitted his team's 2-1 Euro 2024 semifinal defeat against England on Wednesday was "hard to accept" after a controversial penalty decision and then a last-gasp Ollie Watkins goal left his team floored.
"I am disappointed about the final result in a match which started really good for us," Koeman told reporters at the Westfalenstadion in Dortmund, where the Dutch had taken an early lead on the night through a brilliant goal by Xavi Simons.
Harry Kane quickly equalised from the penalty in question. England's penalty came just after the quarter-hour mark when Kane sent a shot over the bar and was caught on the follow-through by Denzel Dumfries.
Contact was minimal and seemingly innocuous, but German referee Felix Zwayer pointed to the spot after coming over to the VAR monitor.
"What can you do as a defender? In my opinion this shouldn't have been a penalty," Koeman complained.
"We cannot play football properly and that is due to VAR. It breaks football."
Koeman felt his team had been in control after the 35th-minute introduction of midfielder Joey Veerman for the injured Memphis Depay, which allowed them to stem the tide of England attacks.
"We had some difficulties in the midfield to stop the good players like (Jude) Bellingham and (Phil) Foden between the lines," he said.
"We didn't control the game. We made some changes to get control back and the feeling was that in the last 20 minutes we were the better team and attacking more.
"But then came the knockout on 90 minutes. A great goal, and then it's over, and that is difficult to accept."
"Some were not able to play because they were not fit, so there's a future for us.
"We have to improve some aspects, but we were close to the final."
