Russia 3, Holland 1 in the Euro quarterfinals. A disappointing outcome to those of us who appreciate Dutch skill on the attack.

But a result that seemed to hinge on the Russians’ superior conditioning. Perhaps a function of age. And the way the game unfolded.

And while it was easy to be annoyed with this or that Dutch player for failing to chase down a pass or win a ball at midfield — or even to get back fast enough — it reminded me, anew, that we are losing our ability to empathize with athletes.

Yes, they do get tired. Like we do. Though we hardly allow them to.

Russia pushed the action from the first kick, going at the Dutch relentlessly, and even 30 minutes in the Dutch looked as if they were sucking wind. Especially their back four. That might have come back to haunt the Russians, even if they were the younger team, had they failed to score after, say, an hour. Their mad pacing could have left them exhausted and vulnerable.

Instead, the Russians got a goal in the 56th minute, and from that moment they could let up a little.

The Dutch got a goal in the 86th minute to forge a tie they probably didn’t deserve, but the Russians scored twice in the second 15 minutes of the two overtime periods to win.

By then, Holland had nothing left. Especially in the back, where their four defenders were used up.

And remember, those guys run more than anyone. Not only do defenders chase around the other side’s best scorers (and fastest guys, usually) … they are expected to get forward to support the attack.

But when a team can’t control the ball in the middle third of the field — and the Dutch had huge trouble doing that — it makes for a lot of counterattacks and mad sprints back to the box for defenders.

Not only were the Dutch “chasing the game,” as soccer people say, for a half hour before they scored … their coach (Marco Van Basten) had used all three of his substitutions early, and the whole team was gassed by the second OT. Just done. They were desperately hanging on to see if they could get to a shootout, where their exhaustion wouldn’t be a killer. They came up eight minutes short.

The Russians broke the tie when a fresh player (he had come on in the 81st minute) ended a long run by poking in a cross … and tacked on an extra goal when, again, the Dutch defenders were trying to get back.

The estimate I’ve heard is that soccer players run six-plus miles in 90 minutes. Add another 30 minutes, and they’re probably over eight miles. And a significant chunk of that is sprinting.

I would imagine Holland’s defenders will be savaged in Dutch media, and clearly they aren’t the strongest part of that team. But when we take into account the pressure they experienced early, the lack of help from their midfield, being behind for 31 minutes and then fending off a fresher team at the end …

They were tired. Something most of humanity no longer seems able to really grasp — especially as we sit on our couches with a bag of chips at hand and reach our cardio limits, basically, never.

(Later on this summer, we will try to mentally push ahead a marathoner or someone at the end of the 800-meter run or 1,500-meter swim, and dismiss those who fade as losers/quitters when they are close to collapse.)

Next time you go up the stairs or take a jog or ride a bike hard … think about whether you could do it another 30 minutes at the same pace. Empathize first. Then criticize.