Dutch Captain Virgil Van Dijk: "We Have To Clean Up Or Get Ready To Come Home From Euro 2024"

Dutch national team captain Virgil van Dijk (photo: eufa.com)

JAKARTA - The captain of the Dutch national team, Virgil van Dijk, warned his team that they should make major improvements if they didn't want to be eliminated from the European Cup in Germany, early. Van Dijk also admitted that they may have overestimated their own abilities.

The Dutch team received a lot of criticism after losing 3-2 to Austria in Berlin on Tuesday, June 25 which put them in third place in Group D. However, they managed to qualify for the round of 16 as one of the best third-placed teams.

"I fully understand the criticism," Van Dijk said at a press conference on Friday, June 28. "I'm not stupid, I also know that I can play better and that should be it, and that's what I'm trying to do. I didn't play well against Austria. It influenced me, I also thought that everything was possible and should be better. The whole team didn't play optimally, but I saw myself first. I can give more."

Over the past few days, the Dutch team has carried out in-depth introspection. They were given a holiday on Thursday 27 June but returned to training on Friday to prepare for their next match against Romania in Munich on Tuesday, July 2.

"Maybe we're overestimating ourselves," Van Dijk said. "There's a lot to talk about and we have to analyze a lot. Things are going really bad against Austria. It's really bad. We've talked about a lot of aspects, now we have to show that change."

"It's not a matter of tactics. It's mainly about wanting to win, to win a second ball. You don't have to talk about it with the coach, the players have to do it between themselves. So, we've talked about it... and with firm words," added the Liverpool defender.

However, Van Dijk said there was no need to panic after one bad performance. "It's more of an eye opener, but if we continue in the same way, we won't have any further business here," Van Dijk said. "This has to change quickly, otherwise we'll sit at home thinking about what could happen. We don't want that to happen."

The Dutch team could have met England in the round of 16 if the results on the final day of the group match on Wednesday were different, and may be lucky to have the chance to fight Romania. However, Van Dijk insists that they will not underestimate the next opponent.

"We are humble and do not look further than the next game. We will not underestimate anyone, we must fully focus on the tasks on Tuesday," he added.