Dutch skipper believes squad has talent and team spirit to win the World Cup
Van Dijk says painful quarter-final loss to Argentina at Qatar 2022 was a defining experience
Liverpool defender insists tournament success is about more than individual stars
Having captained the through the disappointment of the and the progress of UEFA EURO 2024, Virgil van Dijk believes the Dutch national team are approaching the with greater maturity, belief and experience than ever before.
Speaking with FIFA, the Liverpool centre-back reflects on the painful quarter-final defeat to eventual champions Argentina in Qatar, explains why success in tournament football requires more than just outstanding individual players, and outlines his belief that this generation can end the country’s long wait for a first World Cup title.
Virgil van Dijk: In Qatar, it was very special as it was my first finals. I could see then how popular it is all over the world. I've been fortunate to have played several Champions League finals, which are watched everywhere, but a World Cup – the first game was a really special feeling that makes me very proud.
You take the experience with you from the last finals you played at, personally and for the team. And hopefully you can do something with that, be successful with it. At the finals, it's not only about who has the best players. There are several factors that determine whether you'll be successful. So, we'll go for it, and you also need to enjoy it, as it's the pinnacle – representing your country at a World Cup. I'm really looking forward to it.
Not only within the Dutch team – I think it's normal for me to have that feeling as I've been the captain for years and at my club, too. But for me it's something very normal in the way I approach games. Before the game and after the game, it's all about – in the end – performing our best as a team and delivering the best performances. And hopefully winning. It's something very normal for me, but it feels good.
It was against a great country, who were always going to make it difficult and fight until the bitter end. And that's how it turned out. I think we staged an incredible comeback; we had the momentum at that point and perhaps should have kept pushing through. In hindsight, it's always easy to say. They went through and maybe it helped a little bit to process it that they won the World Cup, because at least you can say that you lost to the world champions. It was a very intense game that I've thought about for a long time.
Not one thing specifically but it was an experience. A game, a moment – those are games that you just take with you. How you fight back; the team's experience. If you look at how we all celebrated together after making it 2-2 at the corner flag… and the free-kick routine we scored from. Together, those are really beautiful moments that I won't forget anytime soon.
That's what we always do – we did that back then as well. There will always be discussions about taking penalties. But it doesn't mean if you practise taking penalties every day that success is guaranteed. It's important to keep doing it but a good example is that up until the Argentina match, I had scored every penalty during training. Then comes the match, and you miss. That's a bitter pill, but that's football and you just have to deal with it. But it's definitely something we will practise in training. Hopefully we can win the game in normal time but you never know how it will go.
In 2010, I definitely did. The other ones, well I'm not that old! But 2010, for sure. It was a fantastic World Cup but it was unfortunate for the Netherlands that it We all remember that chance Arjen [Robben] had, when [Iker] Casillas managed to save it with his toe. That's something you don't forget. But still, for a small country like the Netherlands, we've done pretty well so far. It's just that we want to win that cup. And we definitely have the players who can achieve that. But as I said at the beginning, it takes a lot more than just good players.
There will always be expectations. We also live in a world now in which people always have an opinion. People will always feel the need to share their opinions. You don't have to listen to that too much. We just need to have a plan as a team, pull in the same direction – also with the support of the fans. That means moving forward, being positive and being successful.
I hope that will happen, yes. It's something that's underestimated perhaps but their support is very important. A good example is the Argentina match in Qatar. It felt like we were playing in Buenos Aires. There were so many fans there, so that's just so important. I'm fortunate to play for a club that has fantastic fans. It's very important, so hopefully in America as a team, we can also count on a lot of support. I understand that's not always easy. But yes, I hope we can.
That would be fantastic, of course. But we still have a lot of work to do before we can achieve that. I'm already very proud of my career with the Dutch team so far, and the way I was able to contribute to this generation. How people want to remember me is for them to decide. I hope it will be as a very good captain with great qualities as a defender. We will have to see.
Many of the players played at EURO 2024 so that's an experience they had. For many that was their first big tournament. A lot of them are now in their prime. Most of them also play for really big clubs at Champions League level. But for me it always comes down to the fact that it's not about having great players, it's about who has the best team. We, as a team and the staff, have to find the best formula to be successful.
Yes. We have a really tight-knit group and I really believe in it. It's just that you also need luck. You need some players to have special moments and no injuries, especially with the amount of matches you have to play nowadays. It's all those things. But when I look at the group and what we can achieve, I truly believe we can do something very special.
Sources: FIFA Official
