Netherlands coach Ronald Koeman commended his team’s display following a 2-1 victory over Norway in a World Cup warm-up match in Amsterdam. However, team captain Virgil van Dijk believed there was still room for improvement before the global soccer tournament.
The Dutch are set to face Ecuador in Eindhoven on Tuesday and will take on Algeria in June as they continue their World Cup preparations, scheduled from June 11 to July 19 in North America.
Koeman expressed satisfaction with the team’s performance, stating, “This was a very strong match from us against a formidable opponent. It’s a Dutch mentality to expect victory against Norway, but it’s not always the case. They defeated Italy twice in the qualifiers.”
Despite falling behind to an early goal by Andreas Schjelderup, the Netherlands rallied with goals from Van Dijk and Tijjani Reijnders. Van Dijk, however, tempered enthusiasm about their performance and declined to comment on their World Cup prospects in Canada, Mexico, and the United States.
Acknowledging the areas needing improvement, Van Dijk mentioned, “There is still work to be done. We had good moments, but also struggled at times. We improved in the second half when they fatigued. We had opportunities to score more goals and were solid defensively. The victory was deserved, and we look ahead.”
The Netherlands are grouped with Japan, Tunisia, and either Poland or Sweden at the upcoming World Cup.