Netherlands given World Cup 'wake-up call'
Ronald Koeman insisted that Netherlands's late defeat to Algeria should give his team a "wake-up call" ahead of its World Cup campaign.
The result saw Netherlands lose its final home match before a major tournament for only the fourth time, having previously done so in 1934, 1938 and 2004.
But the Oranje had their chances throughout, with Donyell Malen hitting the woodwork early on before somehow firing wide after being picked out by Crysencio Summerville.
The Netherlands boss was left to bemoan his side's lack of clinical edge in the final third, while also suggesting his team was "too nice" to play against in the second half.
"A wake-up call," Koeman said. "We should have scored in the first 20 minutes. We became sloppy.
"I absolutely hate losing. You have to win this when you get four or five big chances. If you convert those, a match like this becomes much easier.
"It shouldn't be a problem then, but in the second half we played worse football. We lacked aggression and it was too nice."
Netherlands has the chance to rectify the defeat before it faces Japan in its opening Group F match against World Cup debutant Uzbekistan next Tuesday.
Uzbekistan lost its first World Cup warm-up against co-host Canada, with Jonathan Osorio and Jayden Nelson on target for Jesse Marsch's side after the break.
Virgil van Dijk acknowledged his team is not at its sharpest in attack, but he was confident that its forwards would be firing by the time the World Cup rolled around.
"This is not what you want in your farewell match," Van Dijk said. "If you look at the game, we should have been at least 2-0 up. Hopefully, our sharpness will return quickly, and we'll finish our chances properly from now on.
"It's positive that most of the players got some playing time, but, of course, we don't play to lose," he said.
Van Dijk's comments were echoed by Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong, though he remained optimistic about Netherlands's chances at the World Cup.
"Of course, it is not what you hope for, and we know that we need to do better. It is not that we are down in the dumps," De Jong said.
"It is a friendly match, and we know that we need to do better, but nothing is decided yet. We are disappointed, but nothing is lost yet.
"I don't think [the Dutch fans] will be happy about it. Of course, they want us to win. We didn't score and we lost."
Netherlands also faces Sweden and Tunisia in Group F as it looks to build on its quarter-final finish in Qatar four years ago.
