On June 30 at 9:00 AM Beijing time (UTC+8), the Round of 16 match of the FIFA World Cup between the Netherlands and Morocco will take place. Captain Van Dijk stated at the pre-match press conference that the team would give their all in the knockout stages.

When you face Morocco tomorrow in Mexico, do you expect many Moroccan fans in the stadium?

I disagree. I believe tomorrow we'll see plenty of orange shirts—you'll see that. That's at least my feeling at the moment. We were warmly welcomed at the hotel, and the messages I'm hearing are quite different from what you're suggesting.

Of course, as you mentioned, there are historical ties between the Netherlands and Morocco, but I expect many Dutch fans tomorrow. The Moroccan supporters could also be very impressive, I think so too. But perhaps I'm wrong.

On paper, you might have faced easier opponents in the Round of 16, but you weren't so fortunate. It feels like a match that should have been in the quarterfinals. Do you see that more as a risk or as a chance to prove yourselves?

I personally don't think we need to prove anything. We're here now, and it will be a very exciting match for neutral fans. For us, it's reality. We're here, and we're ready for Morocco. It will be a special match because of the special connection between the Netherlands and Morocco. But this is the current situation, and we'll adapt. As I said, it's a knockout match—win or go home—and we'll give everything.

Tomorrow is an important match, but football isn't always the most important thing in life, and we've seen that again this week. Yesterday there was sad news about Gakpo and his girlfriend, whom you actually knew from before. What has this week meant for the team?

As the coach said, the most important thing is to be there for him when he needs it. Of course, it's very tragic, and you were right at the beginning to say that it shows again that football is actually secondary in life—there are more important things.

It's sad. But as the coach said, from what I know about Gakpo and what we've seen over the past few days, he's eager to help the team reach the next round, and he'll give everything for it, and everyone's full attention is on that now.

Related: [Gakpo's girlfriend announces tragic news: Our unborn son has passed away]

You know Gakpo well, and if he had wanted to go home, you certainly would have understood. Has the fact that he was able to refocus and concentrate on performing for the Netherlands despite these circumstances given you even greater respect for him?

I can't say I learned something new. Nobody wants to go through something like this, so you never know how someone will ultimately handle it. But from what I've seen now, and knowing him, this really fits his character—he's very mature in that regard. I have great respect for him, his partner, and their families for how they're handling it, no matter how terrible it is. I have great respect for them.

Vincent Janssen has played in this stadium before and also participated with you in the FIFA World Cup. Did you contact him to get details about the venue?

No, I don't think that was necessary. I actually think it's good to see the stadium today. For me, it's not always necessary to see the stadium beforehand, but I've never been to Mexico or Monterrey. I have to say, it's a beautiful stadium.

It's said that the roof here could retain heat, and these details might have an impact.

Yes, that could have an impact.

The coach analyzed the defense and said the team needs to be more compact, leave less space between the lines, and defend better. What will you do? After all, you're essentially responsible for holding the entire defense together.

I'm one of those responsible, yes. Over the past two days, we've trained and emphasized these points very seriously. As the coach said, I'm confident that the team's positioning tomorrow will be much better.

But what exactly will you do differently compared to before?

Defense isn't made by one person; it's about organizing distances and maintaining the team's compactness with multiple players. I'm certainly not the only one responsible, but I feel responsible in this regard. As I said, we've worked hard on this over the past two days and watched videos. It's clear, as the coach said, that when we face better teams—which will definitely be the case tomorrow—these aspects need to improve significantly. After these two days, I'm more optimistic about tomorrow.

The coach previously spoke about players' ability to solve problems on the pitch themselves. Reijnders also said this week that it's not easy for players because everyone has a different understanding of football. Are there moments when you want the team to drop back while some midfielders want to push forward? Is that the complexity of the game?

What point are you referring to? Who said some want to push forward and some want to drop back?

There was a moment in the match where you seemed to tell everyone to drop back while Frenkie de Jong wanted to push forward.

I don't even remember that scenario. We have a game plan that the coaching staff developed with us. There will be moments in the match when you need to press in one-on-one situations; there will also be moments when the whole team needs to drop back behind the ball. That requires communication, initiative, and football intelligence. When the ball goes to the wrong player on the opponent's side and you see an opportunity to press, you go. If not, you drop back. That doesn't just come from the defensive line; everyone has a responsibility.

But I do think we're living in a different era now, not just in football—many things are different than ten years ago. So whether you can expect exactly the same as before is another question.

During your training for the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, you converted all your penalties, but then missed your first penalty in the actual match. Have you thought about that often since? What did you do differently afterward? Or was it just the pressure?

I think that's the part the coach mentioned that can't be trained. In such an important moment, I only heard all the Argentine fans booing me and couldn't even hear the referee's whistle properly. That's not an excuse, but of course that wouldn't happen on the training pitch. As you said, we practiced penalties every day in Qatar, and all the balls went in. But in the actual match, unfortunately that ball didn't go in. I was affected for a while after the World Cup because I was really very disappointed. But it doesn't stay in my head forever. After that, you just have to move on. I've taken several penalties since, including a pretty important one away against Greece, if I remember correctly, so you just keep going.

Another point is that penalty practice shouldn't just focus on the first few penalty takers, because you can make five or six substitutions in a match. Usually the first, second, and third penalty takers on the list are already sitting on the bench with their jackets on and can't take penalties anymore, so you need to involve more players in penalty preparation.

Übersetzt von KI.

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