Ibrahimovic blames Koeman entirely as Netherlands crash out of World Cup against Morocco

The Netherlands were eliminated from the World Cup in the round of 32 on Tuesday, losing a penalty shootout 3-2 to Morocco after a 1-1 draw — and Zlatan Ibrahimovic wasted no time in placing the blame squarely on head coach Ronald Koeman.

Cody Gakpo gave the Netherlands a late lead, only for Issa Diop to equalise deep into stoppage time and force extra time. With neither side able to break the deadlock, Morocco prevailed in the shootout to advance at the Netherlands’ expense.

Ibrahimovic was scathing in his assessment of Koeman’s management throughout the tournament. “This defeat is Koeman’s fault, because I didn’t recognise this Dutch team,” he said. “He lost with an identity that is not the Dutch identity. That makes me angry. I was always taught: attack, attack, attack. This is not the Dutch identity.”

The former Sweden striker went further, comparing Koeman’s approach unfavourably to a style he associated with defensive pragmatism. “Today, Koeman looked like an Italian coach playing not to lose, whereas the Netherlands always plays to win. If you lose, at least lose with your own identity and don’t change it. This was not the Netherlands I am used to seeing. You can also tell by the way they played that they didn’t feel comfortable. The possession was gone, the attacking football was gone — it just looked very bad, and that was all Koeman’s fault. I thought it was absolutely nothing, really nothing at all.”

Thierry Henry echoed those concerns, specifically questioning Koeman’s decision to shift to a 5-4-1 formation during the match. “You take off a midfielder to bring on a defender,” Henry said. “By doing so, you are basically saying that you are afraid of Morocco. That is allowed, of course. If you win, you are right. If you lose, you are wrong. I was really surprised, because the Netherlands normally doesn’t play like that. But Koeman clearly had a different view on that.”

Koeman, for his part, defended his tactical choices after the final whistle, insisting he would set up the same way again. “We chose to play this way because we conceded too much in three matches,” he said. “The whole of the Netherlands has said that we should play with five men at the back. So we do that, and I get criticism for it.”

The Netherlands had entered the knockout stage in decent form, having beaten Sweden 5-1 and Tunisia 3-1 in the group stage, with a 2-2 draw against Japan their only slip. Their exit at the last-32 stage will nonetheless sting, particularly given the manner in which it arrived.