In the fourth round of UEFA Nations League A, Netherlands defeated Serbia 2-1. Following the match, Van Dijk, who reached the 100-cap milestone with the national team, was interviewed by ESPN.

Reporter: What was your favorite moment tonight?

Van Dijk: My family is here, and I walked onto the pitch hand-in-hand with my son. And of course, winning the match. Because ultimately, the only thing you want to do is win, it's as simple as that.

Reporter: Yes, and this being your 100th cap, you certainly didn't want to end it with a loss.

Van Dijk: Of course not, no doubt about that.

Reporter: Speaking of that moment walking hand-in-hand, I felt the little one seemed quite overwhelmed by such a big occasion?

Van Dijk: No, no, no. It just looked that way, but he's actually a very cool and brave little boy. He was already waving to the stands in the tunnel, and I didn't know who he was waving at because my family's seats were on the other side of the stadium. But... yes, he's my pride.

Reporter: Does he have talent for football?

Van Dijk: Haha, we'll find out in a few years. He's already training and playing a lot, so we'll see.

Reporter: As a father, this must be an extraordinary experience. On a night like this, emotionally, is this more significant and feel very different from the 99 matches before it?

Van Dijk: When you're fully engaged in a match, the only thing on your mind is the match itself. But before and after the match, there's no doubt that this is a very special moment. For the duration, the focus is entirely on winning. We managed it in the end, and now I'm standing here being interviewed by you, and I can say I feel very proud.

Reporter: So "pride" is the central keyword for you tonight?

Van Dijk: Of course. But what's more important is gratitude. First, gratitude to my family, who are the most important people in my life; and I also want to thank all my teammates. I just said in the dressing room, thank you to all the coaching staff, former teammates, current teammates... and now we move forward for more caps ahead.

Reporter: Dumfries said yesterday that he hadn't had time to buy you a gift, but...

Van Dijk: That's a bit of a shame.

Reporter: Yes.

Van Dijk: I told him directly that it's a real shame, haha, just joking.

Reporter: So what gift did you end up receiving?

Van Dijk: A beautiful commemorative silver plate, and a wonderful speech from Marianne. I'm truly grateful for that.

Reporter: Among these 100 caps, what has been most valuable to you?

Van Dijk: Reaching the 100-cap milestone for the national team proves it's not an achievement that everyone can attain. And I am...

Reporter: The 11th player in history to reach it?

Van Dijk: Yes. I never dared dream of these things when I was growing up, and even when I made my professional debut at Groningen, I never considered it a realistic goal. That's not to say I lacked confidence, but I just thought: it's amazing to play for the Dutch national team, but reaching 100 caps? That seemed too far out of reach.

Reporter: Why did it seem so far away at that time?

Van Dijk: I'm not someone who usually looks too far ahead, and that's probably one reason my career has been successful. I always take things one step at a time. Of course, at a certain stage, you find yourself consistently selected and playing, and the 100-cap mark gets closer, so you naturally give everything to achieve it. But my goals will never stop at just 100 caps.

Reporter: Indeed, when you made your debut on that excellent artificial pitch in Kazakhstan in October 2015, you couldn't possibly have thought "this is the beginning of a long journey," could you?

Van Dijk: No, I certainly didn't think that at the time, not at all. But I was very confident back then that I would play more matches for the national team.

Reporter: How many caps do you think you might eventually reach?

Van Dijk: Haha, I think coach Xavi just mentioned that with the packed schedule nowadays, reaching more caps seems easier than before. So I really can't say for sure. It depends very much on performance on the pitch and maintaining fitness, doing everything to stay fully ready.

Reporter: So you'll never say "100 caps achieved, mission accomplished, that's it"?

Van Dijk: Not at all, that would make no sense whatsoever. You won't stop now, never. Especially considering the team's current momentum and areas where we can improve in the future, I believe I can still play a very important role.

Reporter: Should we still discuss tonight's match?

Van Dijk: That depends on whether you want to talk about it, haha.

Reporter: From your perspective?

Van Dijk: We ultimately secured the victory!

Reporter: Yes, towards the end of the match, you all defended fiercely in front of goal.

Van Dijk: Yes, of course. When you're playing with ten men and the opponent even pushes their goalkeeper forward, with everyone pressing and it's chaotic, you have to defend with everything you've got. Fortunately, we managed it.

Reporter: On your 100th cap, there was another interesting tactical adjustment – you switched to playing right center-back?

Van Dijk: Pretty interesting, isn't it, haha!

Reporter: Whose idea was that?

Van Dijk: I only found out this morning.

Reporter: What did you think then?

Van Dijk: Just do it! What else could I do? The coach obviously knows it's not my most comfortable position, but because we were short of right center-backs and we knew we'd dominate possession against Serbia, often transitioning into a three-back formation for distribution, I fully understood the setup. Also, considering Timber couldn't play for too long. So it was about focus and giving everything – that's how it was – and we managed to pull it off.

Reporter: But from another angle, is there really that much difference between shifting 7.5 meters to the right versus 7.5 meters to the left?

Van Dijk: If only it were that simple! Your entire physicality and movement patterns are completely different; all your muscle memory is built around the left side. Whether it's long passes...

Reporter: Including the angle of your body for receiving the ball and so on?

Van Dijk: Exactly, receiving the ball, distributing it, and defensive positioning details. But it doesn't matter – we won 2-1, thank you all very much.

Reporter: Okay, congratulations on your 100-cap milestone. This is a remarkable achievement, a beautiful night.

Van Dijk: Thank you very much, it's a night I'm very proud of, and looking forward to more caps ahead.

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