Ronald Koeman admitted it was a ‘painful’ moment for Joey Veerman with the Netherlands star on the verge of tears following his 33rd minute substitution.
The PSV midfielder was guilty of a dismal display in their 3-2 Euro 2024 defeat to Austria at the Olympiastadion in Berlin.
And with Austria 1-0 up courtesy of a freak own goal by Donyell Malen, Koeman decided to replace Veerman for Xavi Simons.
An emotional – and slightly embarrassed – Veerman could be seen trying to pull his shirt over his face as he made his way off the pitch.
He then appeared to be in tears in the dugout, where he covered his head in his hands, before covering his face with Holland’s pre-match shirt.
Former Tottenham midfielder and Dutch icon Rafael van der Vaart admitted that while it was tough to watch the player’s reaction, Koeman made the right choice.
He told NOS: “I felt sorry for Joey Veerman.
“I was happy he got taken off because it actually became super sad to watch him play.”
The stats show Koeman was correct to make the change, with the 25-year-old losing 55 per cent of his touches (16/29).
He also boasted a pass accuracy of just 47 per cent, as he managed to find a teammate just nine times from his 19 attempts.
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Koeman spoke about his decision to bring off Veerman, saying that he had no choice but to change things.
He said: “It was a painful moment for Joey Veerman but I believed I had to make a change. I understand it’s painful for him but when we play like this for 30 minutes, I have to do something.”
When asked about Veerman being good on the ball, Koeman added: “Yes, why are you telling ME this?! You have to ask him about this. I saw him tripping over the ball, giving the ball away, I can’t explain it. Being good on the ball is supposed to be his quality.”
It wasn’t just Veerman who was in the firing line for Van der Vaart, who also vented his anger at the rest the Dutch team.
He remarked: “What we are seeing is a disgrace! Midfield is bad, the wingers are bad, nobody has the balls to ask for the ball.
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“Nobody seems excited to play this game!”
Netherlands went into their clash with with Austria on Tuesday in the mix to finish top of Group D.
And they came out of the blocks fast at the start of the second half.
It resulted in Liverpool forward Cody Gakpo equalising in fine fashion with a brilliant curling effort.
But Austria soon regained the lead through Romano Schmid just before the hour mark.
Memphis Depay then levelled the game up in the 75th minute, before Marcel Sabitzer put Austria ahead for a third time.
And Austria held on for the win to see them top Group D following France’s draw with Poland.
It leaves Netherlands finishing in third spot, where they could face England in the last 16 on Sunday.
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