Netherlands coach Ronald Koeman resigned Tuesday after his team was knocked out of the World Cup with a round of 32 loss to Morocco in a penalty shootout.
Koeman, 63, announced his decision in a social media post. The defeat marked the Netherlands’ earliest exit from a World Cup.
The Netherlands had reached at least the round of 16 in 11 previous World Cups, including a quarterfinal appearance four years ago in Qatar. This year’s tournament expanded to 48 teams, sending 32 to the knockout stage.
In his announcement, Koeman said he shared a dream of a World Cup that would “make history” and that no one was more disappointed than he is that it didn’t happen. The Netherlands has reached the World Cup final three times but never won it.
The loss to Morocco was the third consecutive time the Netherlands has been eliminated from the World Cup in a penalty shootout. The Dutch had scored a tournament high 10 goals in the group stage, but scored just one goal from the field against Morocco in a match that was 1-1 before it went to the shootout.
The World Cup was Koeman’s second time leading the national team. He led the Dutch to the semifinals of the 2024 European championship.
The team’s trip to the semifinal of Euro 2024 marked the first time the Netherlands had reached the semifinals of a major international tournament since the 2014 World Cup.