The 2023 KNVB Cup Final was a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

match between

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is c ...

clubs

Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * ''Ajax'' (play), by the ancient Greek ...

and PSV, which took place on 30 April 2023 at

De Kuip Stadion Feijenoord (), more commonly known by its nickname De Kuip (, the Tub), is a stadium in Rotterdam, Netherlands. It was completed in 1937. The name is derived from the Feijenoord district in Rotterdam, and from the club with the same na ...

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

. It is the final match of the

2022–23 KNVB Cup The 2022–23 KNVB Cup, for sponsoring reasons officially called the TOTO KNVB Beker, is the 105th season of the annual Dutch national football cup competition. It began in August with the first of two preliminary rounds, and will conclude in April ...

, the 105th season of the annual Dutch national football cup competition. PSV won the match 2–3 on

penalties Penalty or The Penalty may refer to: Sports * Penalty (golf) * Penalty (gridiron football) * Penalty (ice hockey) * Penalty (rugby) * Penalty (rugby union) * Penalty kick (association football) * Penalty shoot-out (association football) * Penalty ...

, after a 1–1 draw in regular time and extra time. With PSV winning their eleventh title, they secured a place in the 2023–24 UEFA Europa League play-off round and the 2023 Johan Cruyff Shield.

Route to the final

Match

The 2023 KNVB Cup Final was seen as important for both Ajax and PSV, as they were trailing by resepectively 8 points and 11 points in the Eredivisie to

Feyenoord Feyenoord Rotterdam () is a Dutch professional football club in Rotterdam, which plays in the Eredivisie, the top tier in Dutch football. Founded as Wilhelmina in 1908, the club changed to various names before settling on being called after its ...

and were expected to miss out on the national championship. PSV decided before the game to play

Joël Drommel Joël Drommel (born 16 November 1996) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Eredivisie side PSV. Club career Drommel used to play as a midfielder, but turned goalkeeper before joining the Almere City youth set-up. He t ...

, the team's second goal keeper, a move by coach

Ruud van Nistelrooy Rutgerus Johannes Martinus van Nistelrooij (anglicised to Van Nistelrooy; born 1 July 1976) is a Dutch professional football coach and former player. He is currently the coach of PSV Eindhoven. A former footballer, Van Nistelrooy is often consi ...

that was heavily criticised. In a final that was described by Dutch media as "low level" and "sloppy". The first half was characterised by many altercations between players and four yellow cards. In the 42nd minute of the first half, Ajax went ahead 1–0 after an own goal by

Jarrad Branthwaite Jarrad Paul Branthwaite (born 27 June 2002) is an English professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Eredivisie club PSV, on loan from club Everton. Club career Carlisle United Branthwaite made his first senior team bench app ...

after he touched a shot by

Steven Bergwijn Steven Charles Bergwijn (born 8 October 1997) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a winger for Eredivisie club Ajax and the Netherlands national team. Club career PSV Bergwijn was born in Amsterdam to parents from Suriname. He sta ...

. In the 67th minute, Hazard scored the tying goal after receiving the assist from

Xavi Simons Xavier Quentin Shay Simons (born 21 April 2003) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a midfielder or an attacking midfielder for Eredivisie club PSV and the Netherlands national team. Early life Born in Amsterdam, Simons is the so ...

. There were eleven yellow cards handed out during the playing time, a record for most cards in a cup final. In the following penalty series, Fabio Silva made the winning penalty. As a result, PSV won its 11th Cup title, and the team was welcomed by thousands of supporters in the

Philips Stadion The Philips Stadion () is a football stadium in Eindhoven, Netherlands. As the home of PSV Eindhoven (Philips Sport Vereniging), it is therefore also known as PSV Stadion. With a capacity of 36,500, it is the third-largest football stadium in th ...

the same night. For Ajax, at the moment of the final third in the

2022–23 Eredivisie The 2022–23 Eredivisie is the 67th season of Eredivisie, the premier football competition in the Netherlands. It began on 5 August 2022 and will conclude on 28 May 2023. As the 2022 FIFA World Cup will start on 20 November, the last round bef ...

, the final loss meant another disappointing feat to their season, with manager

John Heitinga John Gijsbert Alan "Johnny" Heitinga (born 15 November 1983) is a Dutch football coach and a former player who played as a centre back. He manages Jong Ajax, the reserves team of AFC Ajax. A product of the Ajax Youth Academy, he played for their ...

reacting after the game: "This hurts. We have to process this.".

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:KNVB Cup Final, 2023

2023 Events Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1927 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ** Croatia will adopt the eu ...

2022–23 in Dutch football AFC Ajax matches PSV Eindhoven matches April 2023 sports events in the Netherlands Sports competitions in Rotterdam 21st century in Rotterdam