The Netherlands Forgot What Made It Great

A cautious approach against Morocco ended another promising World Cup run before it ever truly began.

June 29, 2026; Monterrey, Mexico; Netherlands' Frenkie de Jong looks dejected after the penalty shootout as Netherlands are eliminated from the World Cup. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Becerril-Reuters via Imagn Images

I entered Monday night’s match between Morocco and the Netherlands with one objective in mind: watch the Dutch go out and take what was theirs.

What do I mean by that? I wanted to see the Netherlands finally announce itself as one of the favorites to win this World Cup. Beat Morocco and the Oranje were staring at a golden opportunity. A trip to the quarterfinals was almost certainly waiting – taking down Canada in the Round of 16 wouldn’t have been a tricky proposition – and from there, who knows? Every World Cup champion needs a moment where it grabs the tournament by the throat and tells everybody else, “We’re here.” I thought this would be that moment for the Dutch.

Now, don’t get it twisted. Beating Morocco is no easy endeavor. The Moroccans are one of the best teams in Africa, if not the world. Fueled by a diaspora community that’s transfored the way the country views its national team, Morocco has followed its remarkable run to the 2022 semifinals by putting together another outstanding World Cup. They’re young, talented and incredibly well organized. Still, even with all of that in mind, I thought the Netherlands were the better team. At least on paper, I believed the Dutch had enough quality to dictate the match rather than spend the evening reacting to it.

But games aren’t played on paper.

Morocco revolves around Achraf Hakimi. He’s one of the best players in the world and the heartbeat of almost everything the Atlas Lions do. Slow him down and you dramatically increase your chances of winning. That part of Ronald Koeman’s game plan made perfect sense.