Netherlands coach Ronald Koeman hammered his team for their performance in a 3-2 defeat by Austria at Euro 2024 on Tuesday that left them with third place in Group D.

Austria won the section ahead of France but the Netherlands were already guaranteed to qualify for the last 16, doing so as one of the four best third-place sides after crumbling in Berlin.

The Dutch beat Poland in their opening fixture before a goalless draw against tournament favourites France, but underwhelmed in the German capital against Ralf Rangnick’s well-drilled outfit.

“The France match went reasonably well, taking into account the outcome, we played rather well as a team (but) today the performance was appalling,” Koeman told reporters.

“People played poorly in certain aspects… we have to track our opponents and that’s not what happened.”

Koeman said his team made a catalogue of errors against Austria, who took an early lead through Donyell Malen’s own goal.

Cody Gakpo equalised and after Romano Schmid struck for Austria, Memphis Depay pulled the Dutch back level again, but Marcel Sabitzer then lashed home the winner in the 80th minute.

“I can list quite a few (mistakes),” continued Koeman.

“We started very badly in many aspects. We did not defend well. There were many openings for the opponent.

“We were not aggressive. We lost the ball as well, particularly at the start. We were really very bad.”

Netherlands won the competition for their first and only time 36 years ago to the day in Germany at Euro 1988, but Koeman said his team had to improve to have another chance of glory.

“We need to find a response, we have to prepare for the next match,” added Koeman.

“That could be the final knockout, we don’t want that to be the case, but we will have to play better than we performed today (to avoid that).”

Koeman was visibly angry with the team’s performance in the first half and substituted midfielder Joey Veerman after 35 minutes to try and shake up his team.

The PSV Eindhoven player, 25, appeared on the verge of tears as he watched the rest of the match from the bench.

“I had to intervene as coach after the first half an hour,” explained Koeman.

“We gave away the ball a lot, and so did Joey, but I could have taken off more players.”

Koeman noted the first half display by the whole side was poor as Austria dominated the ball.

“We didn’t have a lot of possession so it was very difficult, there was no rest in the game,” he added.

“We were running like headless chickens. It was awful, very bad, we did not control the match.”

Gareth Southgate bemoaned the “unusual” environment around England after the Three Lions boss was pelted with cups while his players were booed off following Tuesday’s lacklustre 0-0 draw with Slovenia at Euro 2024.

Southgate’s side finished top of Group C despite a third successive underwhelming performance that was greeted with disdain by their fans in Cologne.

While Slovenia’s players and fans celebrated wildly at the other end of the stadium after reaching the knockout stage, Southgate and his players were greeted with jeers when they trudged towards the England supporters.

Southgate was targeted by beer cups that missed the Three Lions boss but clearly left an impression on his psyche.

Coming after several days of criticism from former England players following a drab 1-1 draw with Denmark, the latest flop by Southgate’s team threatens to create an even more toxic atmosphere as they head into the last 16.

Pleading with England’s fans to create a positive vibe around the team, Southgate said: “I’ve not seen any other team qualify and receive a similar reaction. I’m very proud of the players for the way they handle it.

“The players kept composure in a game when they have come into it with a really challenging environment. It’s taken me back to days when I was playing for England.

“I’m not going to back away from it. I understand the narrative towards me, better for me than it being towards them. It’s creating an unusual atmosphere to operate in.”

Southgate claimed England’s relative success in his eight-year reign, which includes a runners-up finish at Euro 2020 and a World Cup semi-final appearance in 2018, had created expectations that his team are currently failing to match.

– ‘I’m not going to back down’ –

“I think probably expectation,” he said when quizzed about why the mood in the stands had changed.

“We have made England fun again over the last six years. It’s been enjoyable for the players and we have to be very careful that it stays that way.”

Southgate, whose contract expires at the end of this year, has hinted he will leave the England job if they don’t win the Euros.

But he was adamant he remains in a positive mind-frame despite the barrage of negativity surrounding England’s spluttering campaign.

“I’m in a really good place. I’m asking the players to be fearless and I’m not going to back down from thanking the fans,” he said.

“The fans were exceptional with the team in the second half, that makes such a difference.

“It’s so important they stay with the team no matter how they feel about me. I’ve been around England for 20 years. I’ve seen it. I get it.”

The toothless Three Lions have won just two of their last eight games and have netted only twice in their three matches at the Euros.

But Southgate was grasping for signs of improvement in the Slovenia game.

“After what happened after the last game (against Denmark), I didn’t think we would be free and liberated and score six goals,” he said.

“But we have shown some encouraging signs. We pinned them back and had wave after wave of attack.

“Of course we would have loved a couple of goals. It’s definitely an improvement on the last game. We have to build from here.”

Having won the group, England could have a significantly easier path to the final than several of their title rivals.

But, understandably, Southgate was in no mood to look ahead.

“It’s important to win the group because you control your own destiny,” he said.

“It doesn’t mean you get an easier tie but people can’t accuse us of ending up with a tougher draw when we didn’t win the group.”

The father of Tottenham Hotspur star Son Heung-min on Wednesday denied allegations of physical and verbal abuse at his South Korean football academy, after a student’s family sued him and his coaches.

Son Woong-jung, a former footballer who shot to prominence in South Korea thanks to the success of his striker son, runs a training academy for aspiring players.

Son senior has also authored a best-selling memoir, outlining his football philosophy and detailing how he helped his son become one of the best strikers in the English Premier League.

South Korean media reported Wednesday on allegations of physical and verbal abuse made by one of his football academy’s students, who claimed a coach hit him with a corner flag during training, causing injuries that required weeks of treatment.

Son senior, 62, acknowledged the incident had occurred, but denied it amounted to physical abuse.

“This incident was not corporal punishment but a mutually agreed event as part of fitness training,” he said in a statement.

The player came last in a race, he said, and was supposed to be “hit once” on the thigh.

The incident came to light after the young player’s parents reported Son senior to the police in March after they noticed a bruise on their son’s thigh.

They provided a photograph of the purported injury, which was published by South Korea’s Yonhap news agency.

“Thinking about how frightened my son must have been makes me angry,” the father said, Yonhap reported.

“I decided to report the case to the police because I didn’t want to see another case like this.”

Son senior said he had tried to resolve the matter amicably but failed because the parents had demanded a settlement worth hundreds of millions of won (hundreds of thousands of dollars).

“We are currently awaiting a fair legal judgement based on facts,” he said in the statement.

Son admitted his coaching methods had failed to follow new standards concerning players’ human rights.

“I will self-reflect in atonement for having insisted on my method while failing to catch up with the boundaries set by the change of times and laws.”