FRANK DE BOER

What’s the biggest strength of this current Dutch team?

We mainly have very good players: this is a beautiful generation and we have proven that we are a very strong collective. We never give up and we have often come back from behind. Both on and off the pitch, our group of players is closely knit and that is beautiful to watch.

How do you assess your opponents in Group C at this summer’s European Championship?

Around me, I hear that we have an easy group, but I do not agree. For several years, Austria has been a good football country with players that perform in the top league. Ukraine has also proven, during the qualifiers as well, that they are strong and can obtain results against the big countries. North Macedonia is a bit more unknown to us, but experience teaches us that countries from that region often have good players. This aside, I believe that there are no longer small countries: nowadays everybody plays good and organised football and can make things difficult for any opponent. We must progress from this group, but that won’t simply be a piece of cake.