Netherlands coach Ronald Koeman spared no words when criticizing the performance of his team in the 3-2 defeat to Austria in the final Euro 2024 Group D match on Tuesday.
The Dutch team advanced to the last 16 as one of the best third-placed sides, but will have to wait until the end of the group stage to find out who they will face.
"I can list many mistakes," Koeman said when asked what went wrong for his team.
"We started very badly. We were not aggressive, we were really very bad," he said in a news conference, adding the team was "running without our heads."
The Netherlands fell behind in the sixth minute after Donyell Malen's own goal. They scored twice in the second half through Cody Gakpo and Memphis Depay but Austria followed up both with goals of their own to retake the lead.
"We didn't control the match. Later we were slightly better, we had a few opportunities, but they punished us," Koeman added.
"I'm accountable for this performance. We still have another chance, but we have to play much better. That's possible with this squad
"We played rather well as a team (in the tournament so far), but today it was just poor. If you start like that and you have to fight back, and they beat you again, it's difficult."
Among the possible opponents for the Netherlands in the last 16 are Euro 2020 runners-up England or three-time European champions Spain.
"We knew before the match we would get a big nation for the next round (if we finished third). If England or Spain we need to wait and see what happens," Koeman said.
"We haven't been knocked out, we followed through the next stage. We have to be a better team for the next match. It could be the final match for us. We have to play better than we did today," he stressed.
Netherlands started the tournament with a late 2-1 win against Poland before they drew 0-0 with France.
