Nico Williams backs away from inflammatory remarks about Dutch side

‘We’re going to make them look like clowns’ was the rather surprising remarks attributed to Nico Williams after a 2-2 draw in Rotterdam on Thursday night. Spain had initially taken an early lead through the Athletic Club winger, but had to rely on a late equaliser through Mikel Merino to salvage a draw.

“We always want excellence, we want to win. This team instills that in you. Now we really want to go to Valencia and win. We have shown that we compete and that we do not give up,” he told RTVE as quoted by Sport after the game.

However in the mix zone, Williams then raised a few eyebrows with the following words.

“It is a very difficult stadium. They have pressed from minute one and perhaps they have surpassed us in intensity, but surely in Spain we are going to make them look like clowns.”

It didn’t take long for those comments to make their way to the Dutch side of the affair. RB Leipzig playmaker Xavi Simons seemed just as taken aback as much the media.

“Did he say that? Well, okay, we’ll see on Sunday. If they say those things, it’s because they are confident, but that’s fine, they are the current European champions and we have to respect that. On Sunday, when the referee whistles, we’ll see.”

Dutch manager Ronald Koeman, never afraid of strong words himself, decided against going on the offensive though, as relaid by Marca.

“What he says comes down to him. As the Netherlands coach, I am proud of our game. We know that a very tough game awaits us, but we are not going to make it easy on Sunday.”

The same outlet then quoted Williams’ later on in the mix zone, where the Basque star backed away from his earlier comments. “I didn’t say it like that,” he told journalists as they recounted the reaction from Koeman and Simons. One even told him that it had gone down well in Spain, but Williams reaffirmed that he didn’t mean in that sense, finalising “Fine, but I’m not like that mate.”

No doubt the temptation will be there for Koeman to place his words in the Dutch dressing room at Mestalla, as a way of motivating his side. Certainly it did seem out of character for Williams, and his response certainly suggests that he did not want to stand behind the remarks. Spain will be sweating on the fitness of Pau Cubarsi for the second leg, after he came off with an ankle injury.