Dumfries joins Real Madrid as the Oranje coaching search heats up

Dumfries joins Real Madrid after five years at Inter

Denzel Dumfries is a Real Madrid player. The transfer was confirmed Sunday, ending his five-year stint at Inter (1). Dumfries posted his goodbye himself: "Deze vijf jaar waren een rollercoaster", these five years were a rollercoaster (1).

The Dutch right-back leaves Serie A for the Bernabéu, and Maurice Steijn was quick to weigh in. "Voorbeeld voor alle jongens," Steijn said, an example for all young players (3). The Sparta Rotterdam coach saw Dumfries come up and rates the path he has taken.

Out on penalties, and the fallout is not quiet

Your team is out. Netherlands 1–1 Morocco in the round of 16, eliminated on penalties (2). Cody Gakpo scored the Oranje goal just days after losing his unborn son. The dressing room afterwards was described as dramatic.

Ronald Koeman says he already has his thoughts on his future and will take time to reflect. Kenneth Perez did not wait, he called the approach "lafjes", overly cautious, in a knockout game that demanded more.

Unrest spilled into the streets. In The Hague's Schilderswijk, police deployed a water cannon after being pelted with fireworks.

De Vrij: "Dat was niet makkelijk"

Stefan de Vrij called it what it was. "Dat was niet makkelijk," he said, that was not easy (4). The former Oranje defender spoke about the early exit and also addressed his move to Panathinaikos, with Ajax having been in the picture earlier this summer.

The coaching search gets loud

Steijn does not see Peter Bosz taking the Oranje job. "Ik kan me niet voorstellen dat hij bondscoach van Oranje wordt," he said, I can't imagine him becoming national team coach (5). The search is underway with Koeman's departure now a matter of when, not if.

Pierre van Hooijdonk went further, clashing with Youri Mulder on air over Sarina Wiegman. Van Hooijdonk dismissed the idea outright and fired back at Mulder: "Doe dat dan bij Schalke", go do that at Schalke then (6).

Norway 0–0 Brazil, and van Hooijdonk had a VAR take

The Group C opener stayed goalless. Erling Haaland and Martin Ødegaard started for Norway, Vinicius Junior led Brazil without Neymar (2). A VAR penalty decision involving Bruno Guimarães and referee Ismail Elfath sent van Hooijdonk into full form: "Kan Trump dit nog terugdraaien?", can Trump still overturn this? (7)

Mbappé chases Oranje records

Kylian Mbappé's World Cup numbers keep climbing, and now Netherlands records are in sight (8). France are still in the tournament.