Virgil van Dijk bluntly said "it sucks" after the Netherlands crashed out of Euro 2024 following their last-gasp defeat by England.
The Oranje were seconds away from extra time in what was their first European Championship semi-final appearance for 20 years, after Harry Kane's penalty cancelled out Xavi Simons' earlier effort.
However, there was to be a late twist in Dortmund as substitute Ollie Watkins drilled a 90th-minute winner beyond Bart Verbruggen's helpless dive to send England through to face Spain in Sunday's showpiece.
It meant a fifth defeat in six European Championship semi-finals for the Netherlands, whose sole victory came when they lifted the trophy on German soil in 1988.
"I have no words for this," Van Dijk said. "When you concede so late, it's terrible. This hurts a lot. You give it your all and if it still turns out like that, it sucks.
"You have more possession, and you want to take advantage of the little moments you get. It felt like we could make it 2-1. But that didn't happen, and now we're standing here empty-handed."
Speaking to beIN SPORTS, Van Dijk also hit out at the decision to award England's first-half spot-kick after a VAR check, with Denzel Dumfries harshly penalised for clipping Kane.
"I think it says it all that the referee ran in quite quickly after the game, I had no time to shake his hand," Van Dijk said.
"It is what it is. The game is lost. Certain moments were obvious they should have gone our way, but they didn't. It's difficult to accept it.
"It's been a long year, a tough year. We had a big dream and we felt we could have achieved that."
Despite the disappointment of narrowly failing to deliver their nation's fifth major tournament final appearance, Ronald Koeman insists his players can take plenty of pride for their efforts.
"First half, England deserved [to win]. Second half, not; it was more 50-50," he told ITV Sport. "They created problems in our midfield in the first half, we didn’t control how they played between the lines. We had to change the midfield.
"After that, it was a 50-50 match. My feeling was in the last 25 minutes, our team was more fresh than England, but they scored a great goal in the last minute, and that's football.
"It's a great goal. Maybe, we deserved extra time, but we can be proud of the national team, proud of the players, because we had a great tournament."
Villarreal 2-2 Atletico Madrid: Simeone's men fight back for draw
Atletico Madrid twice fought back from behind to earn a point in an entertaining 2-2 draw with Villarreal in their LaLiga season opener on Monday.
Forward Arnaut Danjuma gave the hosts an 18th-minute lead but Atletico hit back within two minutes as Marcos Llorente capped a lightning counterattack.
Diego Simeone's team fell behind for the second time when Jan Oblak failed to claim a deep cross in the 37th minute, with the ball deflecting off the back of captain Koke and into the net.
But forward Alexander Sorloth, making his Atletico debut following an outstanding 2023-24 season with Villarreal, came back to haunt the Yellow Submarine with a second equaliser.
Sorloth, who finished one goal shy of LaLiga's Golden Boot winner Artem Dovbyk last term, scored with a towering header six minutes into first-half stoppage time, with a quieter second half passing without further incident.
Data Debrief: Sorloth stands alone
Despite a trip to his former club representing a tricky first Atleti outing for Sorloth, he picked up where he left off in a brilliant 2023-24 campaign.
His goal was his 18th in LaLiga in 2024, more than any other player has scored in one of Europe's top five leagues, with Jonathan David and Harry Kane in joint-second with 15 apiece.
Atleti's attack will be further boosted when former Manchester City forward Julian Alvarez gets up to speed.
He was limited to a 17-minute substitute appearance on Monday, only completing two passes and committing two fouls in a quiet outing.
Lack of ruthless edge frustrates Tottenham boss Postecoglou in Leicester draw
Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou was left frustrated by his side's lack of ruthless edge as they were denied in a 1-1 draw against Leicester City on Monday.
Spurs dominated for large periods in their Premier League opener at the King Power Stadium but had only Pedro Porro's first-half opener to show for their efforts.
Jamie Vardy's second-half equaliser punished wasteful Spurs as debutant Dominic Solanke, Brennan Johnson and Richarlison all missed great chances for the visitors.
Speaking to BBC Sport after the game, a disgruntled Postecoglou said: "It was a disappointing outcome for us.
"I thought we were excellent first half and controlled the game. Really dominant with our football but just wasteful in front of goal and the same in the second half and when that happens you keep the opposition in the game.
"We created chances and weren't ruthless enough at other times lacking composure. It's stuff we need to fix.
"When you are so dominant you need to make sure it is reflected by the scoreline."
Steve Cooper earned a point in his first game as Leicester boss since replacing now Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca in pre-season.
It was 37-year-old and Foxes stalwart Vardy who did the damage, even though he missed a big chunk of pre-season due to injury.
Cooper said it was not a difficult decision to start Leicester's long-term talisman after a conversation a few days ago.
"It was a straightforward decision," he told Sky Sports.
"Three days ago we were without an experienced striker. He just showed so much desire to play.
"Had it been on Saturday he probably wouldn't have played but luckily it wasn't. He did what he does."
Juventus 3-0 Como: Bianconeri cruise to victory on Motta's debut
Juventus beat newly promoted Como 3-0 in their Serie A opener at the Allianz Stadium on Monday as new coach Thiago Motta enjoyed a dream competitive debut with the club.
Forward Samuel Mbangula put Juve in front in the 23rd minute with a fine solo effort, driving infield before firing the ball into the bottom corner.
The Bianconeri then extended their lead in first-half stoppage time through winger Timothy Weah, who lashed home from a Kenan Yildiz cutback as the ball bounced in off the inside of the bar.
Youngster Andrea Cambiaso then added a third from distance just before full-time after Dusan Vlahovic had gone close on several occasions.
Juve, who finished third behind champions Inter and Milan last season to secure their return to the Champions League, next travel to Verona on August 26.
Data Debrief: Motta's men dominate
Juventus' victory was their 60th on the opening matchday of a Serie A season, the most of any club in the competition's history. That includes eight wins in their last nine such games (one draw).
While hopes were high that Como – under the management of Cesc Fabregas – could take the game to their hosts, Motta's side were in control throughout.
They did not concede a single shot on target for the second time in Serie A this calendar year, previously doing so in a goalless draw with Milan in April.
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