The Netherlands seek to reignite ‘will to win’ against Euro 2024 underdogs Romania

MUNICH – Netherlands captain Virgil van Dijk has called upon his side to rediscover their “will to win” ahead of their Euro 2024 last-16 meeting with Romania on July 2.

Despite boasting a talented squad, the Dutch have so far struggled in the tournament. Drawn in Group D alongside Austria and heavyweights France, the Netherlands finished just ahead of a lacklustre Poland and qualified as one of the four best third-placed sides.

The Dutch had a thorough post-mortem after losing their final group game 3-2 against Austria on June 25, and “harsh words” were said, with van Dijk’s assessment of the team’s attitude at the tournament of particular concern. He had also made an astonishing admission that perhaps they had overestimated their own ability.

“A lot had to be said and we had to analyse a lot,” he said.

“It was not the tactics where things went wrong. It was mainly the will to win, so we have talked about that – and with harsh words.”

Added forward Memphis Depay: “The tournament is only starting now. We must ensure that we learn from our mistakes. We had discussions and criticised each other, and it is normal that there is friction if the results do not go as you want them to go. It’s logical that there will be irritations.

“But that’s behind us now. There’s a good spirit among the group and we are looking forward.”

Van Dijk himself came under scrutiny after former Dutch midfielder Rafael van der Vaart slammed his “disgraceful performance” against Austria, saying: “I want him to show some passion.”

Still considered among the best defenders in the world, the 32-year-old centre back was at fault for Austria’s decisive third goal in the win which sent Ralf Rangnick’s side through as group winners.

“I know I can do better and it should be better,” admitted van Dijk, but the Dutch captain was far from alone in bearing responsibility for the loss, with Depay and Donyell Malen missing several chances.

In the last 16, the Netherlands will face Romania, who surprisingly topped the closely contested Group E after they opened the tournament with a 3-0 thumping of Ukraine, before losing 2-0 to Belgium and being held to a draw with Slovakia.

Romania are 40 spots below seventh-placed Netherlands in the Fifa rankings and have won only two of 19 games played in six Euro Finals appearances. They have also won only once in 14 past meetings against the Dutch, losing 10. Their sole success was a Euro 2008 qualifier, won 1-0 in Constanta.

There will be no inferiority complex, however, from Romania, who have little to lose and face a struggling Dutch side trying to find some sort of rhythm in Germany.

Romania goalkeeper Florin Nita was bullish about his side’s chances against the Dutch as he told Uefa.com: “This will be a decisive match. We hope to make a good impression... I am doing what I love, and I do it with enthusiasm and passion. Why should I be afraid?”

“We have unity, we have courage and we have determination. We achieved our target before the start of this championship, which was to reach the knockout stages. But after this nice period, the others and I all wish from the bottom of our hearts to go as far as possible in this competition. Why not?”

Defensive discipline is the cornerstone of coach Edward Iordanescu’s on-field approach, and he was worked hard off-field, too, in order to creative a positive team spirit and instil self-belief among his players. Romania, however, will be without left-back Nicusor Bancu, who is suspended after collecting two yellow cards

The Dutch will also have to be wary of Romania’s quick counter-attack, should they wish to reach the quarter-finals of the Euro for the first time since 2008, let alone emulate the 1988 Oranje side and win a European Championship on German soil.

With a population less than a fifth the size of neighbouring Germany, the Netherlands may struggle to consistently compete among the European elite, but a knock on their desire is a damning assessment for the proud football nation.

The criticism has not just come from outside, with coach Ronald Koeman regularly airing his grievances with the players publicly. Koeman hooked Joey Veerman after 35 minutes against Austria for Xavi Simons, a player the coach has also criticised for not working hard enough.

“I can list quite a few mistakes,” Koeman said after the Austria game, adding “we started badly in many aspects”.

“There was a lack of pressure and we lost the ball as well, particularly at the start. We were really very bad.”

Teams at major tournaments do not get much time to work things out, but the Dutch will still be favoured to make it past Romania, though playing in the back of their minds will be what happened three years ago at the last Euro where they were similarly fancied to beat underdogs the Czech Republic in the last 16 but instead lost 2-0. AFP, REUTERS