Netherlands captain Virgil van Dijk has said that the country still have the focus on qualifying for Euro 2020 despite their recent success in the UEFA Nations League. The Dutch were the least fancied side to make the Nations League finals after being pitted against France and Germany but they managed to exceed their expectations by claimingthe top spot in their group.
With that, the Dutch have got a chance of grabbing silverware next summer but Van Dijk believes the focus is still on making the country proud by reigning supreme at Euro 2020, he told UEFA.com:“It’s a fantastic feeling. We should all be proud of ourselves. I know I am.It’s just a great feeling for all of us. We worked so hard every game and to get rewards for that is fantastic. Hopefully [the future] holds a lot, but wedon’t like to look too far ahead. We want to qualify for Euro 2020, that’s the main target. If we can win the Nations League, fantastic,but we all want to make sure we’re at the European Championships and do very well there to make our country proud.”
Netherlands picked up a rather comfortable2-0 win over France in their third Nations League game of their group and this pretty much put them in pole position with just one point required against Germany. However, they made things difficult for themselves after Serge Gnabryand Leroy Sane scored for the 2014 World Cup champions within the opening 20minutes and a defeat appeared destined until the final stages of the encounter.
Quincy Promes gave some hope to the Dutch after scoring in the 85th minute and right before stoppage time, Van Dijk came to the fore with a right-footed volley which level led the scores. The victory has helped the Netherlands reach the Nations League finals next year where they could face one of England, Portugal, or Switzerland during the semi-final phase.