DOHA – Netherlands captain Virgil van Dijk is convinced his side will improve at the World Cup, after a blunt attacking performance in a 1-1 draw with Ecuador on Friday left them waiting to secure a place in the last 16.
“Of course, that is pretty obvious,” he said, when asked if the Dutch needed to do better after the draw at Doha’s Khalifa International Stadium which, nevertheless, extended their unbeaten run to 17 games.
“We have shown pretty high levels – we are unbeaten (in 17), so there is a reason for that. We know that in ball possession, we can do better but we are at the start of the tournament. We will improve.”
The Netherlands had only two attempts on goal, while the Ecuadorians had 15.
The Oranje took the lead through Cody Gakpo’s early strike. But that proved to be their only attempt on target and they were fortunate not to concede again after Enner Valencia equalised for Ecuador at the start of the second half.
Louis van Gaal’s side now go into their last game against already eliminated Qatar level on four points with Ecuador at the top of Group A and needing to better the South Americans’ result against Senegal to win the group.
“Now it is time to recover. We have everything in our own hands. We have to be ready for Qatar and show a very good performance there and, hopefully, win the game,” the 31-year-old van Dijk added.
Key to getting a good performance against Qatar and beyond, with the Oranje set to progress to the knockout stage, will be improving possession.
That is the view of coach van Gaal, after the ball retention issues that bedevilled the Dutch in a somewhat unconvincing 2-0 win over Senegal in their opener resurfaced against Ecuador.
“We were poor in terms of ball possession and, if you’re not good at ball possession, you won’t reach the other half,” lamented the 71-year-old. “We would lose the ball too quickly, so we could not pass to our own players.
“In this match, that was just not good. Plus we lost every challenge, every duel, every second ball. Ecuador could have won but they did not have many chances either.”
Ecuador coach Gustavo Alfaro was bursting with pride after his side, brimming with young talent, outmuscled the Dutch, who sit 36 places above them at No. 8 in the Fifa world rankings.
“We didn’t win because we didn’t finish some chances, the opportunities that you get, you need to score. That’s what we lacked. However, I am proud to lead this young, talented squad. We are up to the challenge,” he said.
AFP, REUTERS
