Netherlands and Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk reacts to facing England in Euro 2024 semi-final

07/06/2024 06:24 PM

Virgil van Dijk expects a ‘tough’ match when the Netherlands face England in the semi-finals of Euro 2024 but insists he is determined to ‘make our dream come true’ by becoming European champions.

Ronald Koeman’s side set-up an intriguing semi-final meeting with England after coming from behind to beat Turkey 2-1 in Berlin.

Earlier in the day, England defeated Switzerland on penalties after a cagey quarter-final tie in Dusseldorf ended 1-1.

On their comeback victory over Turkey and the prospect of facing England, Van Dijk said: ‘You see how everyone reacts and works together.

‘We did everything we could, with tackles and saves. Now it’s time to recover and prepare for another tough match [against England on Wednesday].

‘We did everything we could to reach the semi-finals. Now it’s time to recover and prepare for another tough match. We can get to work. We all want to make our dream come true. We are one step closer.’

Koeman, meanwhile, said of the threat of England: ‘They have good players but so do we.

‘We are in the semi-finals of the European Championship – nobody expected that. If all goes well, we will play two more games.

‘It will be a great night on Wednesday between two big nations – a historic night,.

‘If we play in the final, my preference is Spain because we had France in the group. But first we must prepare in the best way to play a good semi-final.’

More to follow…