Xavi has made his mark on the Dutch national team, starting with a 1-1 draw against Germany, who are under the charge of Jurgen Klopp. The Dutch squad displayed an innovative tactical strategy characterised by high pressing.
Team captain Virgil Van Dijk expressed his thoughts on the performance under the guidance of the former Barcelona boss.
Absolutely. We naturally want to dominate possession, and pressing is a huge part of that. You’re also up against a team with a lot of quality. In the end, it was a solid game from our side.
The defender acknowledged that there is still substantial work ahead to improve the new plan's execution.
I think we deserved at least a point today. At times we played well, but we were a bit vulnerable at moments. If we press, we can do it even better. After three days of work, I think it was a great game.
Van Dijk was also displeased with the referee's decision to disallow his goal in the 13th minute, contending that Brian Brobbey had not obstructed German goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen.
I think the goal was disallowed too easily. I don’t believe Brian did anything. He was just standing there doing nothing.
Despite this incident, Van Dijk remains optimistic about the future of the national team under Xavi's management.
Yes, of course. Results really help build confidence. It also confirms what we’ve worked on over the last three days, but there is something greater behind this. We have a foundation to build on for the future.
