Holland fought back to where we belong, says Van Dijk
Dutch relieved to qualify for first finals since 2014 Missing out was tough, adds Liverpool defender
Virgil van Dijk is struggling to recall exactly where he was when the last European Championship was contested, in France, 3½ years ago. “Portugal-france?” the Holland captain asks, just about remembering who the final was between. “I don’t know. No idea. Somewhere on TV. Probably a beach. Not on a boat, though, you can’t get TV on a boat.”
Van Dijk is smiling broadly now – and with good reason. A goalless draw against Northern Ireland at Windsor Park on Saturday was enough to secure Holland’s passage to Euro 2020 and, for those who consider qualification routine for the bigger football nations these days, it is worth remembering that the Dutch have failed to qualify for the past two international tournaments. The World Cup finals in Russia last summer went by without the Oranje, a second successive failure after missing out on Euro 2016 after finishing fourth in their qualifying group behind the Czech Republic, Iceland and Turkey.
For a country that has given the game so much, it has been a bitter pill to swallow but a new generation of players has emerged and, while the scrutiny on Ronald Koeman’s side is likely to be intense after a prolonged absence, Van Dijk says the pressure is something to embrace.
“You need to like pressure, otherwise it gets boring,” the Liverpool defender said.
“We always have pressure, players at big clubs. Since the manager has come in, the way we play, set up, how we present ourselves as a group outside the pitch – so far so good. I’m delighted that we are back at the Euros – back where we belong. It was a big thing for us to miss those tournaments, it was tough, but we don’t need to look too far back. We need to focus on now and everything is looking good.
“We still have a lot of progress to make and we’re very happy we’re going to be able to show our spirit, talents and quality at the Euros.
“I’ve heard we’re going to probably play all our group games in Amsterdam. That will be massive. The fans will definitely help us.”
It seems odd that a player of Van Dijk’s talents has never graced a major international tournament and it is clear the centre-half, now 28, is determined to make up for lost time, a feeling shared by his team-mates. On a personal level, Van Dijk could not be in a much better place. Having helped Liverpool to Champions League glory in June, he is among the favourites to win the Ballon d’or on Dec 2, and the prospect of adding a Premier League title and European Championship over the next nine months is focusing the mind. “I can always improve,” he said. “The 18-19 season was outstanding personally but also on the team level. We set the bar pretty high but you’re always hungry for more.”
Holland may lack a natural, pedigree centre-forward but, in Van Dijk and Juventus’s Matthijs de Ligt, they have arguably the most imposing centre-half partnership in Europe and one of the continent’s most exciting young midfield playmakers in Frenkie de Jong. Like De Ligt, De Jong formed part of the exciting young Ajax side who reached the Champions League semi-finals last season before he moved to Barcelona and Van Dijk believes the 22-year-old could light up next summer’s tournament. “He’s an important member of the team, on and off the pitch,” he said. “He’s definitely up there with the best midfielders and he’s playing with fantastic players.” Disharmony among the squad has sometimes been a problem for Holland at tournaments but Van Dijk, who has withdrawn from tomorrow’s final qualifier against Estonia due to “personal circumstances”, insists this is a closeknit group free of cliques and internal politics.
“We have a strong squad, very close,” he said. “We can make plenty of progress, we’re never satisfied. We can manage the game better. We showed we can match the fighting spirit of Northern Ireland and we have shown we can play through bigger countries – France, Germany as well. We have fantastic players but we have to show it and stay humble.”