Netherlands defender, Matthijs de Ligt has come out to take responsibility for his country’s 2-0 defeat to the Czech Republic in the last 16 of Euro 2020. He recently revealed that his red card was the reason his country crashed out of the tournament.
According to him, Holland really had the game under control before he decided to handle the ball, and he is prepared to take all the blame.
He added that the European Championship was a golden opportunity for Holland and it is painful to exit at this stage.
His words, “We actually lost because of my action, that feels very annoying. Of course this is bad. We had the game under control and then a ball comes, I let it bounce, which in hindsight was not good, I got a light push and fell, after which I handled it. In the end this moment changes the game and I can’t let that happen to me. I watched the last few minutes as the team struggled. I really blame myself.”
“I didn’t feel like it slipped out of our hands. We were in control and had some chances in the first half. In the second half, of course, we had the one on one with the keeper. The red card made the difference. The Czech Republic is a physically strong team that does not shy away from duels. We had a hard time with that. It was a 50-50 match where the red card made the difference.”
“This European Championship was a golden opportunity, but if you’re eliminated like that, it’s very painful. We did well in the group stage. Then you fly out in the last-16 against the Czech Republic. That’s very sour.”
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