The Netherlands captain Virgil van Dijk said they must stop France’s Kylian Mbappe with a collective effort. The Dutch will take on France in Group D at the Red Bull Arena at Leipzig on Friday.
The Netherlands got off to a winning start in their campaign as they registered a 2-1 win against Poland after Cody Gakpo and Wout Weghorst scored for them.
Meanwhile, Mbappe is one of the best players in the world and he is known to bamboozle the opposition defenders with his extra speed.
“Look, everyone knows his qualities,” Van Dijk told reporters. “We have to be at our best as a team in order to stop them [France] from scoring, but obviously he is a world-class player that can make the difference in one split second.
“But we have to be ready as a team for a different kind of challenge and I think we’ve shown what we can do over the last couple of games.
“We have a top-level defence ready to be tested on Friday. That game is now the big one.
“We struggled them in our last couple of games against them but I am looking forward to that. The focus will be on recovery and making sure that everything’s ready for what a huge test that will be.”
Meanwhile, Weghorst was able to strike the match-winning goal within two minutes after coming on as a substitute against Poland. Van Dijk gave credit to his team for staying patient and delivering at a crucial phase.
“You just have to stay calm and patient and I think we did, obviously,” he said.
“I think it’s very important to keep pushing, keep the confidence in each other and I think we did. Guys who came off the bench made a difference and that’s what we need.
“I don’t think that there is anyone in the team that has a give-up mentality. It’s about keeping going and trying to keep creating.
“Wout eventually scored and I think we got what we deserved. I’m glad for Wout obviously and for the whole team and nation that we got our first win.
“I think the main thing was that we need everyone. When he came from the bench he made a big impact with the goal but he also brings a lot of energy, he brings a different type of dimension to our game that’s very needed as well
“And yeah, you know, we need that from the bench. Let’s keep going.”
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