The Netherlands and Spain drew 2-2 in the first leg of their quarter-final matchup. Spain took the lead after Jorrel Hato lost the ball to Lamine Yamal after a personal mistake, and equalised in injury time after goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen mishandled a shot from distance.
Captain Virgil van Dijk defended his teammates after the draw in Rotterdam. "Unfortunately, it (losing points) happens that way. Everyone can make mistakes at times. And it unfortunately happens at the end.
"They are not deliberate mistakes," Van Dijk continued.
Ajax defender Jorrel Hato, who celebrated his 18th birthday two weeks ago, got a direct red card after a late challenge on Atletico Madrid defender Robin Le Normand. Hato held fellow teenage star Lamine Yamal to zero successful dribbles but did hand his Spanish opponent an assist after his earlier mistake.
"I think Hato was trying to have a good approach there and wanted to play the ball to Cody (Gakpo)," said Van Dijk about his young teammate. "In the scramble, the ball falls to Yamal. In the end, the ball goes in.
"Of course that's unfortunate, but I think we recovered well after that and put up a good game. It's unfortunate that Hato picked up red card. That's a learning moment."