Marco Van Basten’s team’s exit is probably the most painful. Most pundits would have predicted the semi-finals for the Oranje. But they played well below par. Of course, the farcical refeering did not help at all.
Dick Advocaat and the South Koreans played to par. They did have a pretty good shot at getting to the next round but came up short against Switzerland.
Leo Beenhakker’s Soca Warriors were a delight with a courageous draw against Sweden and then giving the English a scare before they pulled away. They played well above expectations.
But Guus Hiddink remains the pick. He has molded the Socceroos into a well knit team, made key substitutions, and given them a belief that they can win the big one. They have exceeded expectations. Their game against Brazil showed that they can play some fine footy.
All in all, not a bad outing for the Dutch coaches. I hope India picks Clarence Westerhof, maybe he can work some Dutch magic with the team.