Netherlands captain Virgil van Dijk has called upon his side to rediscover their “will to win” ahead of Tuesday’s Euro 2024 last 16 meeting with Romania.
Despite boasting a talented squad, the Netherlands have so far struggled in the tournament.
Drawn in Group D alongside heavyweights France and Ralf Rangnick’s impressive Austria, the Netherlands finished just ahead of a lacklustre Poland and qualified as one of the four best third-placed sides.
Van Dijk, in particular, was the target of criticism from former Dutch midfielder Rafael van der Vaart who slammed his “disgraceful performance” against Austria in the Netherlands’ final group game.
“I want him to show some passion,” said the former Oranje playmaker.
Still considered among the best defenders in the world, 32-year-old Van Dijk was at fault for Austria’s decisive third goal in the 3-2 win which sent the Alpine nation through as group winners.
“I know I can do better and it should be better,” admitted Van Dijk, but the Dutch captain was far from alone in bearing responsibility for the loss, with Memphis Depay and Donyell Malen missing several chances.
In the last 16, the Netherlands will face Romania, who surprisingly topped the closely-contested Group E thanks largely to their opening round 3-0 thumping of Ukraine, while they drew and lost their remaining matches.
The Dutch will need to improve should they wish to reach the quarter-finals of the Euros for the first time since 2008, let alone emulate the 1988 Oranje side and win a European Championship on German soil.
With a win, a loss and a draw from three games, the Dutch have come under fire — criticism which Van Dijk “completely understands”.
“Things overall can and should be better,” the Liverpool defender said after a 3-2 defeat to Austria, adding “maybe we’ve been overestimating ourselves”.
But of particular concern was Van Dijk’s assessment of the team’s attitude at the tournament.
“A lot had to be said and we had to analyse a lot.
“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,” added Van Dijk.
With a population less than a fifth the size of neighbouring Germany, the Netherlands may struggle to consistently compete among the European elite, but a knock on their desire is a damning assessment for the proud football nation.
The criticism has not just come from outside, with coach Ronald Koeman regularly airing his grievances with the players publicly.
Koeman hooked Joey Veerman in the first half against Austria for Xavi Simons, a player the coach has also criticised for not working hard enough.
“I can list quite a few mistakes,” Koeman said after the Austria game, adding “we started badly in many aspects”.
“There was a lack of pressure and we lost the ball as well, particularly at the start. We were really very bad.”
Teams at major tournaments do not get much time to work things out, but the Dutch will still be favoured to make it past Romania, who had only won one of their 16 Euros matches prior to beating Ukraine.
That win however came against one of Europe’s big guns: a 3-2 victory over England in 2000.
And the Dutch will be wary of such an upset — having a more recent reminder of the dangers of underdog sides themselves, after they lost 2-0 to the Czech Republic at the last 16 stage of the Euros in 2021.
