Euro 2024: Virgil van Dijk reveals Netherlands squad exchanged ‘harsh words’ after defeat to Austria
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Published 28/06/2024 at 19:12 GMT+1
Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk admitted there is a chance the Netherlands squad “overestimate ourselves” after they were beaten 3-2 by Austria in their final group game of Euro 2024. The result saw Ronald Koeman’s side scrape into the last 16 in third place of Group D but Van Dijk said he and the rest of the team will have to improve if they are to progress further.
Austria confident of Euro 2024 last 16 win ‘no matter who the opponent is’ – Wimmer
Virgil van Dijk admitted there were “harsh words” spoken after Netherlands scraped through to the last 16 of Euro 2024 as one of the best third-placed finishers at the end of the group stage.
Ronald Koeman’s side beat Poland in their opening game before drawing 0-0 with France and suffering a 3-2 defeat at the hands of Austria.
The Liverpool defender was at fault for the third Austria goal and believes the Dutch have a lot of improving to do if they are to clinch a first European Championship since 1988.
“I can completely understand the criticism,” Van Dijk said. “Things overall can and should be better. Maybe we overestimate ourselves.”
Perhaps most worryingly for Netherlands fans, the 32-year-old admitted it was a lack of effort rather than a poor gameplan that led to the loss.
“A lot had to be said [following the defeat] and we had to analyse a lot,” he added.
“It was not the tactics where things went wrong. It was mainly the will to win, so we have talked about that and with harsh words.”
Ralf Rangnick’s Austria have been the surprise packages of the tournament and topped a group which also featured France with six points.
And that was after a 1-0 defeat to Les Bleus in their first game of the tournament. A 3-1 victory over Poland followed before Marcel Sabitzer was played onside by Van Dijk and blasted home in the 80th minute to secure a thrilling three points.
Responding to criticism of his own performance in Berlin, Van Dijk said: “I'm not stupid. I also know that I can do better and that it should be better, and that's what I'm working on.”
Netherlands face Romania in the last 16 on Tuesday and could meet Austria again in the quarter-finals if they progress.
When asked about his team's performance during the group stages, Van Dijk replied: "For example, after the game against France, we didn't hear anything about this. And then everything was compact. And we did keep a clean sheet.
"So after one bad game, it's not a reason to be panicking, but it has been an eye-opener for us. If you go keep on this line, we have nothing to play for here. That's something that has become very clear. So this is what we have been talking about as a group if you want to reach something, then we have to change many things or just be going back home.
"We are talking with each other, what we should have done on pitch. So that's something that we've been very clear along with each other, and probably so we can not control everybody's emotions and feelings.
"Everybody has to deal with in his own way. But in my eyes, we have talked about us with each other after the past game. It feels a little differently than how it has been done in the past."
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