Koeman's lack of Dutch courage exposed by magnificent Morocco - ESPN

Justice was served in Monterey, Mexico, on Monday night under the watchful gaze of Cerro de la Silla. Football justice, that is. Not because Morocco came to play and, by and large, the Netherlands did not. The object of the game in knockout tournaments isn't to win, it's to advance by any means necessary. Sometimes, setting up defensively, parking the bus and hoping to sneak a goal in the counterattack is the best way to win. But if you're going to do it, you have to be smart about it and do it well. Ronald Koeman's team did neither.

Don't be fooled by the fact that it took 120 minutes, plus injury time, plus hydration breaks, plus penalty kicks to settle Morocco's 3-2 shootout win. Or the fact that as the clock ticked into second-half injury time, the Dutch were leading. Crysencio Summerville, while on his backside, passed the ball to Cody Gakpo, who buried one of the only two Dutch shots on target in 120-plus minutes. (The other was Micky van de Ven's header with an xG of 0.01).

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Koeman has opted for a muscular, bunker setup and never quite wavered. A back three of Jan Paul van Hecke, Virgil van Dijk and Nathan Aké, who started 14 league games for Manchester City in the past two seasons. Denzel Dumfries on the right and Van de Ven on the left. Two holding midfielders, such as Ryan Gravenberch and Frenkie de Jong. Up front, another blue-collar player, such as Gakpo and the powerful Brian Brobbey. Plus, the one concession to aesthetics, the tricky, fleet-footed Summerville.

Dutch legend Johan Cruyff might have shed a tear