Spain midfielder Koke hits back at former Dutch star Van Der Vaart over his comments

Atletico Madrid star Koke did not take much time to respond back to the harsh criticism of former Netherlands playmaker Rafael van der Vaart on the Spain national football team for their performances in the ongoing Euro 2020. Speaking to El Partidazo de COPE, the Spanish midfielder was seen making fun of Rafael van der Vaart following his criticism directed towards La Roja.

Spain did not have the brightest of starts to their Euro 2020 campaign, with the Euro 2008 and 2012 winners playing out a disappointing 0-0 draw against Sweden. Despite dominating ball possession, keeping hold of the ball for over 80 per cent of the game and attempting more than 15 shots on the opponent's goal, La Roja failed to find the back of the net in their tournament opener.

They managed to up the ante with Alvaro Morata finally scoring Spain's first goal in Euro 2020 in the second group stage match against Poland only to see Robert Lewandoski equalise later. Rafael van der Vaart was seen sharing his opinion on Spain's performance in the first two matches on Dutch TV channel NOS where he was quoted saying that "Spain are horrible, all they do is pass it from one side to the other."  

The former Netherlands star's comment hurt the sentiments of Koke as he responded back to them while speaking on Spanish radio. Responding back to Van der Vaart’s comments, Koke decided to recall a memory painful for the former Netherlands player: the 2010 World Cup final. In a conversation with El Partidazo de COPE, the Atletico Madrid and Spain midfielder was heard saying that Van der Vaart wants his moment of glory and he’s having it.

Koke added that he has seen Rafael van der Vaart in the World Cup final and also added that there is a photo of the former Netherlands star at Las Rozas. He elaborated that the Spain football team has a picture of Andres Iniesta’s goal against the Netherlands with Van der Vaart next to him. Koke also went on to add how the Spanish national football team will approach Van der Vaart's words in a positive manner and look to draw motivation ahead of their final group stage clash against Slovakia.

Slovakia vs Spain Prediction

Spain start the match as favourites and are expected to cruise to a win on Wednesday. However, Slovakia will be a tough nut to crack for Enrique's side. We predict the match to end in a draw with both teams likely to cancel each other out during the 90 minutes. 

Prediction- Slovakia 1-1 Spain

Image Source: Koke/ Instagram