Roberto Macini’s Italy have defeated the Netherlands in the UEFA Nations League third place play-off to mount pressure on Dutch manager Ronald Koeman.
Italy raced into the lead in the 6th minute through a Federico Dimarco’s strike from inside the 18-yard box.
Davide Frattesi netted in the 20th minute, to double the Azzurri’s advantage over Netherland.
Despite Steven Bergwijn halving the deficit in the 68th minute, Federico Chiesa’s goal in the 72nd minute handed Italy the victory.
Roma’s Georgino Wijnaldum scored in the 89th minute to lessen the disparity between his side and the Azzurri’s but it wasn’t enough to hand Netherland the win.
The loss to Italy is Koeman’s third loss in four games in charge of the Netherland
The loss indicates that Ronald Koeman has now lost three of the first four encounters of his second stint handling the Oranje.
Ronald Koeman was appointed in January 2023 replacing Louis Van Gaal after the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
He was previously in charge of the Netherlands from February 2018 – August 2020.
The former Barcelona manager has only picked up a win in his four matches handling the side and it was a 3-0 victory against Gibraltar on the 27th of March 2023.
Prior to the Gibraltar game, Koeman’s Netherlands lost 4-0 to France on the 24th of March 2023.
He lost in back-to-back games in the Nations League finals
In his last two matches with the side which are Nations League encounters, he lost in the semifinals and third place play-off to Croatia and Italy respectively.
On the 14th of June 2023, Croatia defeated the Netherlands by 4-2 in an enthralling game that lasted 120 minutes.
His loss to Italy on the 18th of June, 2023 would definitely set his heart racing after he was appointed to guide a side that was seemingly on its way back to reckoning.
Prior to their defeat against Argentina via penalties at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, Louis Van Gaal went on a 20-game winning run with the Oranje. They were at a great competitive level and the tactical input of the manager was noticeable.
Italy are also not in a rich vein of form
Meanwhile, Italy are also in a cold streak of their own. Although they seem to come up clutch in one-off games like finals, they still haven’t hit the recent heights when Roberto Mancini initially took charge of the team.
After winning the Euro 2020 Championship, they nosedived in form and it resulted in them losing the Finalissima.
Integrally, one loss that would have hurt supporters of the Azzurri is the loss to North Macedonia.
The loss resulted in Italy missing out of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar and it was a massive shock to the footballing world.
Anyway, Ronald Koeman would have to galvanize his men going forward as they also currently sit one spot away from qualification for the 2024 European Championship.
Netherland convenes again on the 7th of September 2023 and they trade tackles with Greece.
Koeman’s future definitely is nearing uncertainty as Roberto Mancini’s Italy came out victorious in the Nations League third place play-off final through his team.
