Noppert and Van Duijvenbode disagree about cause of World Cup defeat relating to absence of Van Gerwen

The Netherlands went down against Wales in the semi-finals of the World Cup last weekend. Danny Noppert and Dirk van Duijvenbode disagreed afterwards about what exactly was the cause.

Noppert started with a defeat against Gerwyn Price. "It was just sloppy, I was behind all the time. I kept fighting, but unfortunately I didn't manage to turn that match around. Then of course you hope that Dirk will win so you can have a pairs match. That eventually doesn't happen, but still I leave here with a good feeling, we had a lot of fun together", says The Freeze to Viaplay.

Van Duijvenbode then lost 4-2 to Jonny Clayton. "I actually didn't think I was going to lose at all, but it happened. It was all just not in the match, the darts I missed were all against the iron."

Both Dutchmen disagree about the cause of this defeat. "In such a match you miss someone like Michael van Gerwen. The opponent is always impressed by him, they have less with us. Moreover, Michael is not afraid of anyone and always assumes his own strength, we think it will be difficult", said Van Duijvenbode.

But Noppert disagrees. "That's not how I started this match at all. So I don't think we missed Michael, we failed ourselves in the semifinals, that's the only cause."