Netherlands defender Matthijs de Ligt admitted he is responsible for the team’s elimination in the Round of 16 of Euro 2020 against Czech on Sunday.
With the game levelled at goalless the defender was sent off in the second half for handball when he denied Patrik Schick a clear goalscoring opportunity.
Goals from Tomas Holes and Schick eventually did the damage but De Ligt faced up to the media afterwards, saying “we basically lost the match because of what I did”.
“Obviously, it hurts,” De Ligt said on NOS TV after the final whistle.
“Fundamentally, we lost the game due to my mistake.
With hindsight, I shouldn’t have let the ball bounce. I felt like we had the game under control and had a few chances, especially in the first half.
“I didn’t even have the sensation that the Czechs were creating many scoring chances, but obviously the red card made the difference.”
Vincent Paul
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