2022 World Cup: The Netherlands Will Not Make Up Action Covering Her Mouth As A Form Of Protests To FIFA

JAKARTA - Netherlands national team coach Louis van Gaal confirmed his team would not imitate Germany's mouth-covering action. The action was a form of protest against FIFA's decision to ban the use of colorful captain tires.

The former Manchester United boss said it was not the focus of the Netherlands. Oranje's goal to Qatar is to become world champion.

"We are here to become world champions," van Gaal said at a press conference before the match as reported by Firstpost, Friday, November 25, 2022.

Earlier, Germany held a silent protest during a team photo session before a surprising 1-2 defeat against Japan on Wednesday, middle of this week.

The protests came after captain Manuel Neuer was forced to drop plans to wear the "One Love" captain's armband after threats emerged would be considered an disciplinary action against FIFA.

Several countries had previously planned their captain to wear the captain as a symbol of protest against the law in the host country that legalizes homosexuality.

Van Gaal has already said ahead of the tournament he is "not having a problem" with supporters in the Netherlands who chose to boycott the World Cup due to human rights issues in Qatar.

For this reason, he hopes that his players can perform well while in Qatar so that they can suck fans' interest in following their journey in the biggest event of the four-year edition.

"In the Netherlands for a long time is about human rights and may be true, but maybe it's also not true," said van Gaal.

The Netherlands and Ecuador currently fill the top two places in Group A with a collection of three points. In Ecuador's first match beating Qatar 2-0, the Netherlands also won with the same score over Senegal.