Xavi points to main culprit for the Netherlands' dramatic first half

Xavi admitted his mistake to NOS on Thursday evening. The Spain coach took full responsibility for the Dutch national team's dramatic first half.

By half-time against Greece (2-2), the Netherlands were 2-0 down. For both Greek goals, the Dutch defence were completely out of position.

Going forward, Xavi's side offered nothing at all. Afterwards, he pointed to the main culprit for his team's dreadful first-half display: himself.

"I'm not happy with the result. We were really very poor in the first half. It's my fault. I didn't put the players in the right positions. There was no tempo or rhythm at all," Xavi began.

"We didn't play well. We didn't have enough creativity. Fortunately, it did work in the second half. There may have been too many changes compared with the previous match. That is my fault," he continued.

After the break, the Netherlands turned the game around. Virgil van Dijk headed in from a corner and Tijjani Reijnders grabbed the equaliser in the closing stages.