Virgil van Dijk has told ESPN FC there is a new “buzz” about Dutch football after Netherlands overcame France and Germany to seal a place in next summer’s UEFA Nations League finals.
Netherlands will face England in the semifinals after being paired with Gareth Southgate’s side in Monday’s draw in Dublin.
After failing to qualify for the last two major tournaments — the 2016 European Championship and the 2018 FIFA World Cup — Liverpool defender Van Dijk said that the Nations League will give Netherlands the opportunity to show that their resurgence is for real.
“Everyone is getting positive again, everyone has a great feeling about it,” Van Dijk told ESPN FC. “There’s a real buzz around everything around the national team.
“We just need to keep going, to show Holland [Netherlands] that we’ll work every game, and we’ll work our socks off to be at the [European] Championships and try and compete with the best.”
England stand between Netherlands and a place in the Nations League final against Portugal or Switzerland.
Van Dijk, who captains his country, said that England are as good as their hype suggests after their run to the semifinals at the World Cup.
“I think they are, yeah,” he said. “They are a fantastic team with amazing players.
“I think the manager has done brilliantly there as well. So they grow and they are progressing. They’ve been doing very well.”