‘It hurts’ – de Ligt blames himself for Netherlands’ Euro 2020 exit

Tomas Holes

and

Patrik Schick

scored in the second half for

and qualify for the Euro 2020 quarterfinals.

Matthijs de Ligt

 was sent off the pitch for denying the Czechs a goalscoring chance with an intentional handball.

While trying to shield the ball from

Patrik Schick

, the 21-year-old took the risky decision to use his hand to claw the ball away and prevent his opponent from running clear through on goal.

“Obviously, it hurts,”

De Ligt told NOS TV

.

“Fundamentally, we lost the game because of what I did. 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 opportunities, but obviously the red card made the difference.”

While De ligt accepted full responsibility for the mistake that led to the defeat, his teammates refused to blame the defender.

Frenkie de Jong

insisted it was a poor performance in a crucial game, saying:

"We can't just blame De Ligt, I know he feels like he's responsible but he is exaggerating. We failed together."

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