Virgil van Dijk spoke to the media after arriving in the United States with the Netherlands national team, looking ahead to their opening World Cup group stage match versus Japan.
Van Dijk said: “We’re here now and can fully focus on our preparation work. There have been a number of changes within the Netherlands squad, and our players are all at different stages of their careers. We hope all these adjustments will turn out positive. Everyone knows we still have plenty of work to get through. We have a full week ahead of us to get ready for the game against Japan, and it will be a severe test. But if we want to achieve good results, which is the dream shared by every single one of us, we have to be ready to fight hard.”
“This coming week will be crucial for our preparations. The atmosphere inside the Dutch camp is really good, yet we all stay aware of the tasks we need to complete, and that’s our real mindset right now. We are all eager to step onto the pitch and really looking forward to Sunday’s fixture.”
The Netherlands will take on Japan in the first match of Group F in this summer’s World Cup, kicking off at 04:00 Beijing Time on June 15.