KANSAS CITY, June 24 (Xinhua) -- Netherlands head coach Ronald Koeman said Wednesday that already-eliminated Tunisia will be driven by pride and a desire to turn its tournament around when the sides meet in their final Group F clash, insisting his team must be ready for a fierce reaction.
"We're expecting a tough match, because if a team plays two matches and gets two defeats, and they have a new coach, then you want to close off the tournament in a different way from the first two matches," Koeman told a pre-match press conference.
"You want to turn around the results. So I'm expecting a reaction from that angle, and we need to be prepared for that."
The Dutch enter the match in high spirits after cruising to a 5-1 victory over Sweden on Saturday, an impressive attacking display that lifted them to the top of Group F on goal difference.
The Netherlands and Japan both sit on four points, with the Oranje holding the edge after recovering from a 2-2 opening draw against Japan, in which they conceded a late equalizer. Tunisia, meanwhile, has lost both of its group matches and been eliminated.
Despite Tunisia's predicament, Koeman warned against complacency, pointing to the North African side's history of upsets.
"In football, anything is possible," Koeman said when asked if Tunisia could spring a surprise. "Perhaps up front we're the favorites based on the performance in general, and the performance in this tournament. But you have to show what you've got time and time again."
"And then very often you see matches with results that are close run-ups. There is no one match that is easy. So we just expect a tough match, a tough game," Koeman added.
When asked whether he would seek updates from the other match between Japan and Sweden, the Dutch coach was unequivocal.
"You have to focus on making sure you win the match. We would love to be first in the group, and of course the result will have an impact on that. But that's not the most important thing. Playing this game for us is the most important thing."
The 63-year-old, who returned for a second stint as national team coach in 2023, said the Netherlands respect all opponents but fear no one as they look to go deep in the expanded 48-team tournament co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.
"Because we want to get very far in this tournament, we respect all of our opponents, whoever they are, and we're not afraid of anyone, because we believe we're a strong team," he said. "The best way to go about this is to take this one match at a time, and just be ready for whoever you have to face."
Koeman hinted that he could use the match to give minutes to squad players who have yet to feature, but stressed that securing a positive result and improving performance levels remain the priority.
"We want to be good, we want to become better as we progress in this tournament. Perhaps in the course of the game, you'll make different choices based on the results in between," he said.
"We want to come out first, and we want to play well. If there is room to bring in players who haven't had any time yet, that remains to be seen. But up front, we just want to play well," he added. ■
