Dutch National Coach Ronald Koeman Teased by Norwegian Journalist: 'That Was My Mistake'

The journalist apologized for his 'poor Dutch' before posing his question in that language. "Do you remember the last time Norway beat the Netherlands?" "Yes, I just heard about it," Koeman replied. "In 1992, I believe. I played and made a mistake. So it was my fault."

The Norwegian journalist confirmed this. But Koeman isn't worried about Friday's match. "I'm not playing tomorrow," he said with a laugh. "It was always tough to play against the Norwegians." Koeman received a yellow card in the eighth minute of that match. Norway's Kjetil Rekdal then converted a penalty. Immediately after, Dennis Bergkamp scored the equalizer.

Ultimately, it was Gøran Sørloth, father of Alexander Sørloth, who scored the winning goal in his only international appearance. The 30-year-old Alexander is now part of the Norwegian squad. The Atlético Madrid forward has played 68 matches for the national team, scoring 26 goals.

Koeman was unwilling to get ahead of himself during the press conference. He kept his World Cup expectations vague. "Norway has a strong team. I think they're in a tough group, and so are we. We have our own qualities, and this week is the most important right now. It's not relevant to speculate about World Cup performance during preparation," said the Dutch national coach.

The Netherlands will play a friendly match against Norway on Friday. Kick-off is at 8:45 PM in the Johan Cruijff ArenA. Next Tuesday, the Oranje will face Ecuador.