Barcelona captain De Jong expresses disappointment after World Cup elimination: ‘Lump in my stomach’

Barcelona captain De Jong expresses disappointment after World Cup elimination: ‘Lump in my stomach’ The FIFA World Cup has been full of upsets along the way, right from Turkey and Uruguay’s elimination in the group stages to Germany and the Netherlands’ elimination in the Round of 32. For nations of such stature and footballing culture, crashing out at such an early stage is indeed seen as an embarrassing result, and Barcelona captain Frenkie de Jong was one who had to face such a situation. Playing against Morocco, the Dutch national team could not manage a win in ninety minutes and went on to lose on penalties. The heartbreak, needless to say, was profound and came as a shock. De Jong’s apology Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong took to his Instagram account earlier today and finally broke his silence about his nation’s elimination from the FIFA World Cup with a heartfelt apology to fans. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Frenkie de Jong (@frenkiedejong) As one of the leaders of the Dutch dressing room, the player openly admitted how the entire elimination was still difficult to digest. “Now, a few days after the game, the lump in my stomach and the disappointment is still the same,” he began. “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. We gave it all we had but it clearly wasn’t good enough,” he added. Elaborating on the disappointment he felt, especially given how the event is held once every four years, the player said, “Four years of waiting for another chance to bring home the first world title for the Netherlands feels like an eternity.” Finally, the Barcelona star vowed to help the team get better and promised that they would push for a better performance in future tournaments. “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,” he added. A return to fitness De Jong ended the season with knee problems. (Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images) De Jong was a vital part of his nation’s games throughout the event, but word has it that he played a big part of the tournament in pain. The player reportedly was injured during the team’s games against both Sweden and Tunisia and that he even played the games with pain-killing injections . Barcelona, however, are not worried about the player’s situation and remain optimistic that he can come back stronger, and in time for the new season. Having been eliminated early in the competition, however, the player could well return early to join Barcelona’s pre-season.