Netherlands given World Cup 'wake-up call' by Algeria, says Koeman

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ShareThe Netherlands were beaten late on by Algeria, leaving Ronald Koeman wanting a response before their World Cup campaign begins.Ronald Koeman insisted that the Netherlands' late defeat to Algeria should give his team a "wake-up call" ahead of beginning their World Cup campaign. Koeman watched on as his team were beaten 1-0 at Stadion Feijenoord on Wednesday, with Anis Hadj Moussa' 86th-minute winner proving to be decisive for the visitors. The result saw Netherlands lose their final home match before a major tournament for only the fourth time, having previously done so in 1934, 1938 and 2004. But the Oranje had their chances throughout, with Donyell Malen hitting the woodwork early on before somehow firing wide after being picked out by Crysencio Summerville. Koeman's side finished the match with an expected goals (xG) total of 2.2 from their 17 shots, six of which were on target, compared to Algeria's 0.48 from their eight attempts. And the Netherlands boss was left to bemoan his side's lack of clinical edge in the final third, while also suggesting his team were "too nice" to play against in the second half. "A wake-up call," Koeman told NOS. "We should have scored in the first 20 minutes. We became sloppy. "I absolutely hate losing. You have to win this when you get four or five big chances. If you convert those, a match like this becomes much easier."It shouldn't be a problem then, but in the second half we played worse football. We lacked aggression and it was too nice."Netherlands do have the chance to rectify the defeat before they face Japan in their opening Group F match against World Cup debutants Uzbekistan next Monday. Uzbekistan lost their first World Cup warm-up against co-hosts Canada, with Jonathan Osorio and Jayden Nelson on target for Jesse Marsch's side after the break. Virgil van Dijk acknowledged his team were not at their sharpest in attack, but he was confident that their forwards would be firing by the time the World Cup rolled around."This is not what you want in your farewell match," Van Dijk added."If ​you look at the game, we should have been at least 2-0 ​up. Hopefully, our sharpness will return quickly, and we'll finish our chances properly from ‌now ⁠on."It's positive that most of the players got some playing time, but, of course, we don't play to lose," he said.Van Dijk's comments were echoed by Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong, though he remained optimistic about Netherlands' chances at the World Cup."Of course, it is not what you hope for, and we know that we need to do better. It is not that we are down in the dumps," De Jong told SBS6."It is a friendly match, and we know that we need to do better, but nothing is decided yet. We are disappointed, but nothing is lost yet."I don't think [the Dutch fans] will be happy about it. Of course, they want us to win. We didn't score and we lost."Netherlands also face Sweden and Tunisia in Group F as they look to build on their quarter-final finish in Qatar four years ago. The Netherlands were beaten late on by Algeria, leaving Ronald Koeman wanting a response before their World Cup campaign begins.Ronald Koeman insisted that the Netherlands' late defeat to Algeria should give his team a "wake-up call" ahead of beginning their World Cup campaign. Koeman watched on as his team were beaten 1-0 at Stadion Feijenoord on Wednesday, with Anis Hadj Moussa' 86th-minute winner proving to be decisive for the visitors. The result saw Netherlands lose their final home match before a major tournament for only the fourth time, having previously done so in 1934, 1938 and 2004. But the Oranje had their chances throughout, with Donyell Malen hitting the woodwork early on before somehow firing wide after being picked out by Crysencio Summerville. Koeman's side finished the match with an expected goals (xG) total of 2.2 from their 17 shots, six of which were on target, compared to Algeria's 0.48 from their eight attempts. And the Netherlands boss was left to bemoan his side's lack of clinical edge in the final third, while also suggesting his team were "too nice" to play against in the second half. "A wake-up call," Koeman told NOS. "We should have scored in the first 20 minutes. We became sloppy. "I absolutely hate losing. You have to win this when you get four or five big chances. If you convert those, a match like this becomes much easier."It shouldn't be a problem then, but in the second half we played worse football. We lacked aggression and it was too nice."Netherlands do have the chance to rectify the defeat before they face Japan in their opening Group F match against World Cup debutants Uzbekistan next Monday. Uzbekistan lost their first World Cup warm-up against co-hosts Canada, with Jonathan Osorio and Jayden Nelson on target for Jesse Marsch's side after the break. Virgil van Dijk acknowledged his team were not at their sharpest in attack, but he was confident that their forwards would be firing by the time the World Cup rolled around."This is not what you want in your farewell match," Van Dijk added."If ​you look at the game, we should have been at least 2-0 ​up. Hopefully, our sharpness will return quickly, and we'll finish our chances properly from ‌now ⁠on."It's positive that most of the players got some playing time, but, of course, we don't play to lose," he said.Van Dijk's comments were echoed by Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong, though he remained optimistic about Netherlands' chances at the World Cup."Of course, it is not what you hope for, and we know that we need to do better. It is not that we are down in the dumps," De Jong told SBS6."It is a friendly match, and we know that we need to do better, but nothing is decided yet. We are disappointed, but nothing is lost yet."I don't think [the Dutch fans] will be happy about it. Of course, they want us to win. We didn't score and we lost."Netherlands also face Sweden and Tunisia in Group F as they look to build on their quarter-final finish in Qatar four years ago.