"They decided to take risks and we paid the price" - Koeman hits out at Barcelona

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Netherlands coach Ronald Koeman appeared in the press room after his team's victory over Iceland. The coach lashed out at Barcelona after announcing the withdrawal of Frenkie de Jong for the European Championship, saying they decided to take too many risks and now they have to pay the price.

5 months ago
The Netherlands' victory over Iceland was overshadowed by the announcement that Frenkie de Jong would miss the European Championship. The midfielder was unable to recover 100% from his ankle injury and will therefore miss the big tournament.
Ronald Koeman spoke about this at the press conference afterwards and did not hesitate to hit out at Barcelona: "He has a history with this injury, so we have to think about his health. His club decided to take risks and this is the price we have to pay now for that.
"We found out today in the middle of the afternoon. We were very optimistic, we were really hoping to have De Jong in the last group game. But the best thing is to do without him," he added. Koeman also complained about the fixture overload and the schedule: "The clubs’ schedule is getting worse now. Lewandowski got injured in the friendly in Poland... and Koopmeiner doesn't look good either. We'll see tomorrow morning, but I don't have high expectations".
Memphis Depay, one of the Oranje stars, was also unhappy: "Of course, Frenkie's absence hurts. For us, for the coach... he was trying. I do feel good. Finally, the period where I missed training but prepared myself physically in the gym is paying off.

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