Netherlands manager Michael Reiziger meets England boss Lee Carsley prior to kick-off
Netherlands manager Michael Reiziger said England's midfield made it hard for his side to control the semi-final at the Under-21 European Championships in Bratislava.
England knocked the Netherlands1290 out of the tournament with a 2-1 win, partially thanks to a fabulous Harvey Elliott double.
Michael Reiziger had more praise for England's midfield than for the Liverpool starlet, however, praising the centre of England's team for its mobility.
"We lost this game because we couldn't get into our rhythm. We couldn’t press them, their midfielders switched positions a lot, which made it hard for us to intercept the ball," Reiziger told reporters in Bratislava.
"We had a lot of trouble with that in the first half, but we improved in the second half. We had the ball and got into our game more, but it wasn’t enough."
Michael Reiziger saw his side struggle in the first half
Reiziger attributed this to the fact that the Dutch forwards couldn't put pressure on the back-line. "We weren’t surprised by the midfield; we couldn’t apply enough pressure in the final third, which caused the midfield to be able to switch positions a lot. We had to repair that in the second half, but it was difficult.
"They’re excellent players; you have to push them into the battle, but it becomes a big challenge if they’re allowed to play the ball around."
Reiziger, a former Champions League winner with Ajax, had to switch his team around in three places with the suspensions for captain Devyne Rensch, Kenneth Taylor, and Ruben van Bommel. Rangers' Neraysho Kasanwirjo got the nod at right-back, but had trouble containing Omari Hutchinson, who had his way with Kasanwirjo in the first half.
It prompted Reiziger to take Kasanwirjo off during half-time and hand Wouter Goes, a centre-half, his first minutes of the tournament at right-back. "I felt we didn’t have the grip there," Reiziger explained.
"We had it difficult in the first 15 minutes, so I wanted a player like Wouter (Goes) there, who’s not a natural right-back but knew how to play that left winger."
Neraysho Kasanwirjo's difficult first half in numbers
Both of England's goals involved Dutch errors, with Antoni Milambo losing a crucial duel ahead of the 1-0 and the Dutch midfield and defence refusing to put any pressure on Harvey Elliott prior to the 2-1 in the 86th minute.
"It told the story of our game that we lost the duels in those moments. If you lose your duel, you gotta prevent them from progressing. We made the same mistake before the second goal. Those are the small details which made us lose the game. It started in the duel, and we then made the wrong decisions, which paved the way for him (Elliott)."
Reiziger said before the tournament that the goal was to win the Euros with the Netherlands for the first time since 2007. A semi-final elimination was not considered a total failure, however.
"In terms of failure, we didn’t meet our goal of winning the tournament," said Reiziger. "But we didn’t fail; we fought, and we can all look at each other. You don’t fail in that case."
The players, who Reiziger said were very disappointed after the loss, were reminded of their journey, which began in 2023 and with a flawless qualifying."We started the tournament with high expectations, didn’t start well, but recovered. It resulted in a deep tournament run; they can be proud. We fought for what we’re worth, but after two years, it’s over."
Reiziger wants people to remember this team in one particular way: "I want people to remember this group for what we showed in the past few games. The unity we showed, the work we put in for each other.
"Guys who came from different clubs who made one tight collective. I hope people take that away and remember about this team."
View all the statistics from the semi-final on Flashscore.
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