Sao Paulo: The Netherlands’ penalty shootout loss to Argentina in the World Cup semifinals on Wednesday was an unjust way for them to exit the tournament, according to playmaker Wesley Sneijder.
“We deserve much better,” said the Galatasaray midfielder, one of two Dutch players to see a penalty saved by Argentina goalkeeper Sergio Romero at Sao Paulo’s Corinthians Arena.
“Argentina were playing for penalties, which wasn’t the case with us. We tried to play.
“I missed my penalty. It’s a shame. But it’s particularly frustrating not to have capitalised on the chances we created over the 120 minutes.”
Meanwhile, Dutch manager Louis van Gaal, who brought Romero to Netherlands’ side AZ Alkmaar in 2007 when he was coach, was left to rue a disappointing game.
Van Gaal also expressed a feeling of “unfairness” about the third-place playoff.
“I think this match should never be played. It’s unfair also because we have one less day to recover, so that’s not fair play but the worst thing is that chances are you lose twice in a row.” (Agencies)
