Virgil van Dijk has challenged he and his fellow Netherlands team-mates to produce a more complete showing in the quarter-finals of the FIFA World Cup after they negotiated their way past an awkward United States side.
Goals from former Manchester United duo Memphis Depay and Daley Blind handed the Oranjes a two-goal lead heading into the break. However, American forward Haji Wright halved the deficit with 15 minutes remaining in Doha, before defender Denzel Dumfries resurrected the two-goal advantage and sealed an emphatic victory for Louis Van Gaal's side.
However, the Liverpool defender, who serves as captain, wants to see more from his nation in the latter stages of the tournament as they aspire to put their recent World Cup heartbreak behind them and achieve a feat the likes of Johan Cruyff, Ruud Gullit and Marco van Basten could not in securing a maiden triumph in the competition.
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"I think we can do even better," said Van Dijk after the victory against the USA. "We want to improve. This has already been a step forward, we have scored two fantastic goals. What more do you want? They have scored on us and we have found a way to keep fighting, that says everything about this team.
"Today we have been better with possession, but we are very critical. In the Netherlands, people are very critical because we can play better football. But we are in the quarterfinals. Now it's time to recover, we have two extra days and that helps"
Van Gaal's side progressed to the knockout stages after topping Group A, thanks to wins over Senegal, Qatar and a draw with Ecuador. Having not qualified for the 2018 finals in Russia, the Netherlands will place the winner of Argentina v Australia in their first quarter-finals match in eight years.
It's a meeting that would see the Liverpool man tasked with defending Lionel Messi, who he once described as the most difficult opponent he has faced during his career when the two faced off in the Champions League semi-final in 2019.
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