Coach Bert van Marwijk accepted responsibility for the Netherlands’ Euro 2012 exit but stood by the tactical decisions he took in a bid to stave off elimination.
On Sunday, the Netherlands lost 2-1 to Portugal at Kharkiv’s Metalist Stadium in their final Group B game, after a Cristiano Ronaldo brace cancelled out Rafael van der Vaart’s early opener for the Dutch.
It left Holland without a single point after earlier losses to Denmark and Germany, and the Germans’ 2-1 win over Denmark in the other final pool game meant Van Marwijk’s side would not have qualified even if they had won.
Van Marwijk had bolstered his team’s attacking resources by introducing both van der Vaart and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar to his starting XI, and he said it was a risk that he had no option but to take.
“I did say before that this was a special situation because if you play a final or a first game, a draw is OK,” he explained.
“It can go to extra-time and penalties (in the knockout rounds). But we knew we had to win by a two-goal margin so we had to take that risk and go forward.
“Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. At the start it went well, then afterwards it didn’t.
“We’re just disappointed. It wasn’t a good game at all today. I’m responsible for that and I’m disappointed.”
Van Marwijk also defended his decision to move playmaker Wesley Sneijder to the left flank in order to accommodate Huntelaar up front, with Robin van Persie dropping deeper into Sneijder’s usual, central role.
Asked to explain the thinking behind the decision, van Marwijk replied: “Because Robin van Persie is also one of the best number 10s in the world.
“We have very good attacking players and we have to make choices based on that. Sneijder has played on the left in Italy as well this season.”
Van Marwijk pinpointed a misplaced back-pass by right-back Gregory van der Wiel in the first half, which presented Helder Postinga with a clear sight of goal, as the moment “uncertainty” set in among his back four.
“After the back-pass from Gregory (when Holland led 1-0), there was a lot of uncertainty in the team,” he said.
“I don’t really know what happened. It didn’t happen in the first game (a 1-0 loss to Denmark). We had lots of chances to turn the game in our favour but due to that loss against Denmark, that’s where the uncertainty started.”