Barcelona star admits he ‘still has knot in stomach’ after World Cup exit

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·6 juillet 2026

Barcelona star admits he ‘still has knot in stomach’ after World Cup exit

Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong has released a statement on his social media, following the Netherlands exit from the World Cup. De Jong was expected to be a key figure for Ronald Koeman, who has already stepped down after a highly disappointing Round of 32 departure.

The Netherlands topped their group with Tunisia, Sweden and Japan, drawing with the latter, but scoring 10 goal in the process. Their comfortable 5-1 win over Sweden turned out to be a red herring though, with Morocco shutting down their offensive weapons with relative ease in the Round of 32. Following a 1-1 draw, Yassine Bounou came up big for the Moroccan side, sending the Dutch home after another disappointing tournament.

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– lundi 6 juillet 2026

Frenkie de Jong addresses Dutch exit

Posting on his Instagram, the Barcelona man admitted that he was struggling to get over their exit.

Now, a few days after the game, the knot in my stomach and the feeling of disappointment is still the same. It’s a huge honor and a great responsibility to play for the Dutch national team. If we can’t fulfill our own expectations and those of the people, the disappointment is extra big. View this post on Instagram

We gave it all we had but it clearly wasn’t good enough. Four years of waiting for another chance to bring home the first world title for the Netherlands feels like an eternity. But we’re going to use the coming time to come back stronger together, so that we can live up to our own expectations and those of our fans in the next final tournaments. Thank you for all the support and support. That was great and we definitely felt it.

It has been reported that de Jong also finished the tournament with an injury, but his knee pain is not expected to keep him out for too long. Barcelona will be desperate to get de Jong fit again after a season in and out of the team. The competition for places will be high though, with Gavi and Marc Bernal both seeking de Jong’s spot in midfield.