AMSTERDAM, March 28 : Netherlands coach Ronald Koeman praised his team’s performance after their 2-1 win over Norway in a World Cup warm-up on Friday in Amsterdam, but captain Virgil van Dijk felt there was still work to do ahead of the global soccer showpiece.
The Dutch next meet Ecuador in Eindhoven on Tuesday and will play Algeria in June as they continue their preparations for the World Cup, which is scheduled from June 11 to July 19 in North America.
“This was simply a very good match from us against a very strong country,” Koeman said in a press conference.
“It is somewhat typically Dutch to think that when you play Norway, you have to beat them. That is not the case. In the qualifiers, they beat Italy twice.
“Norway also had good phases against us, but looking at the entire match, I think we deserved to win.”
The Netherlands, who were playing without several regulars, fell behind to an early strike from Andreas Schjelderup but fought back through goals from Van Dijk and Tijjani Reijnders.
Van Dijk was less enthusiastic about his side’s performance and did not want to answer a question about whether the Dutch were genuine contenders for the World Cup, which is being held in Canada, Mexico and the United States.
“There is still work to be done. In spells it went well, but at other times less so,” he said.
“I thought we were better in the second half, partly because they were a bit more tired. Ultimately, we had enough chances to score more goals. Defensively, we were also solid. We won deservedly and now we move on.”
The Netherlands are in Group F at the World Cup with Japan, Tunisia, and either Poland or Sweden.
(Writing by Mark Gleeson in Cape Town; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
