A day before the Orange closes the group stage of the Nations League against Belgium, Louis van Gaal and captain Virgil van Dijk looked ahead to the meeting. The national coach was especially jealous of his colleague from Belgium, who has a ‘level goalkeeper’ in Thibaut Courtois. He also supported the injured Frenkie de Jong and Memphis Depay.
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16:53
This press conference was not as spectacular as on Monday with Louis van Gaal and Virgil van Dijk. The national coach was looking forward to the duel with the Belgians. “They are second in the FIFA ranking for a reason. Look at Kevin de Bruyne, a player who sets the game but can also score. And we can play against that. That’s fantastic,” said Van Gaal. “But we also have a good selection. Hopefully you remember that from the meeting in Brussels.”
Belgium can become group winners if it wins by three goals or more in Amsterdam. “If that stunt is going to take place, it will probably be deserved,” said Van Gaal. “But I am different. I believe in my players, I believe in my team. We have analyzed what Belgium does. They have always played with the same concept of the game in recent matches. We have a certain vision on how we are going to approach that. I pass that on to my players. It’s all right.”
Captain Van Dijk: ,,Personally I want to win every match I play. Tomorrow will be no different. We are now so close to the start of the World Cup. This is the last match in preparation, so there is something extra. Moreover, we are unbeaten under this national coach, we want to keep that up until the World Cup. We play in a full house against Belgium. If you have to encourage someone to do that, something is not right.”
The goalkeeper issue came up again. “Noise? A nice word by the way”, says Van Gaal. “I am jealous of Roberto (national coach Martínez, ed.), yes. I have sometimes criticized Thibaut Courtois, but he is a keeper of level. sometimes a mistake, because that happens when you are under pressure.”
Captain Virgil van Dijk is not too worried about the injuries of Frenkie de Jong, Teun Koopmeiners and Memphis Depay. ,,I have understood from the boys that it is not so serious that the World Cup is in danger,” said the captain. Van Gaal: ,,This is a major loss for the account.”
The trio has left Zeist. Brian Brobbey and Ryan Gravenberch have been called up as replacements. Van Gaal gave De Jong and Memphis another message. “I gave them a heart. They have meant so much to this Orange. I try to keep a spot free for them in the World Cup selection for as long as possible, but then they have to be fit.”
Steven Berghuis, who still suffered from lower back problems against Poland, is fit to play against Belgium. “Orange is not a rehabilitation center. Everyone who is here now is fit,” said Van Gaal.
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