At 9:00 AM Beijing time (CEST) on June 30, the FIFA World Cup Round of 16 match between the Netherlands and Morocco will take place. Captain Van Dijk stated in the pre-match press conference that the team will give their all in the knockout stage.

Tomorrow you face Morocco in Mexico. Do you expect many Morocco supporters in the stadium?

I disagree with you. I think there will be plenty of orange tomorrow, you'll see. That's at least what I'm feeling right now. We received a very warm welcome at the hotel, and what I've heard is quite different from what you're saying.

Of course, as you mentioned, there's a historical connection between the Netherlands and Morocco, but I expect plenty of Dutch supporters tomorrow. The Morocco supporter section could also be very impressive, I think. But perhaps I've been wrong.

In theory, you could have faced easier opponents in the Round of 16, but you weren't lucky. This match is like one that should be played in the quarterfinals. Do you see this as a risk or an opportunity to prove yourselves?

Personally, I don't think we have anything to prove. This is where we are, and this will be a very exciting match for neutral fans. For us, it's the reality. We're here, and we're ready for Morocco. This will be a special match because there's a special connection between the Netherlands and Morocco. But this is the situation, and we'll go with it. As I said, this is 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, sad news about Gakpo and his girlfriend was announced, and you actually knew about it earlier. What does this week mean for the team?

As the coach said, the most important thing is to be there for him when he needs it. It's certainly terrible, and you were right from the start—it shows once again that football is really secondary in life; there are more important things.

It's very sad. But as the coach said, from what I know about Gakpo and what we've seen over the past few days, he's very eager to help the team advance to the next round tomorrow, and he will give everything for that. Everyone's focus is on supporting him.

Read more: [Gakpo's Girlfriend Announces Sad News: Our Unborn Son Has Passed Away]

You know Gakpo well. If he wanted to go home, you would certainly understand. Have you learned anything new about him through this, seeing how he's refocused and is determined to play for the Netherlands even while facing this?

I can't say I learned anything new. No one wants to go through something like this, so you never know how someone will ultimately deal with it. But from what I've seen now, and from what I know about him, it really fits his character; he's very mature about this. I have a lot of respect for him, his partner, and their family for how they're handling this, difficult as it is. I really respect them.

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

No, I don't think that was necessary. I thought it was 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 before, nor to Monterrey. I have to say, it's a beautiful stadium.

They say the roof here can retain heat, and these details can make a difference.

Yes, that could make a difference.

The coach analyzed the defensive line, saying the team needs to play more compact, with less distance between the lines and better defense. What will you do? Because you're really responsible for keeping the entire defensive line compact.

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

But what exactly will you do differently than before?

Defense isn't done by one person; it's about organizing distances and maintaining the team's compactness with many players. I'm certainly not solely responsible, but I feel responsible for it. As I said, we've trained a lot and reviewed video of this over the past two days. Clearly, as the coach said, if we face a stronger team—which will certainly happen tomorrow—these aspects must improve significantly. After these two days, I feel more positive about tomorrow.

The coach previously mentioned players' ability to solve problems on the pitch. Reijnders also said this week that it's not easy for players because everyone has a different understanding of football. Are there matches where you want the team to drop deep, while some midfielders want to push high? Is this the complexity of the game?

What point are you making? Who said anyone wants to push forward and who wants to drop back?

A moment we saw in a match where you seemed to be telling people to drop back, while Frenkie de Jong wanted to push high.

I don't even remember that moment. We have a game plan developed by the coaching staff together with us. There will be moments in the match when you need to press the opponent one-on-one; there will also be moments when the whole team needs to drop back and follow the ball. This requires communication, initiative, and football intelligence. If the ball goes to the wrong opposing player and you see it's time to press, you go. If not, you drop back. This doesn't just come from the defense; everyone is responsible.

But I think we're living in a different era now, not just in football—many things have changed compared to ten years ago. So whether you can expect things to work exactly as before is another question.

At the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, you scored all penalty kicks in training, but then missed your first penalty in an actual match. Do you often think about that afterward? What did you do differently after that? Or was it just pressure?

I think that's the part the coach said can't be trained. In such a crucial moment, I could only hear all the Argentine fans booing me, and I could barely even hear the referee's whistle. That's not an excuse, but of course that doesn't happen on the training pitch. As you said, in Qatar we practiced penalties every day, and all the balls went in. But in the actual match, unfortunately, that ball didn't go in. I was affected by it for a while after the World Cup because I was really disappointed. But it won't stay on my mind forever. After that, you still have to move on. Since then I've taken quite a few penalties, including a fairly important one away to Greece, I remember, so you just keep moving forward.

One more thing: penalty practice shouldn't focus on just the first few penalty takers, because you can make five or six substitutions during a match. Usually, the first, second, and third penalty takers on the list may already be sitting on the bench in their jackets and can't take penalties anymore, so you need to involve more players in penalty preparation.

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