Virgil van Dijk calls for change “very quickly” and criticizes “low-energy” performance after departure.

Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk was extremely unhappy with the performance of the Netherlands, who slumped to a 3-2 defeat against Austria. The Dutch are still through to the next stage of Euro 2024, but the defender has called for a quick turnaround.

Group D took an unexpected turn as Ralf Rangnick’s Austrian side finished top of the table, consigning France to the more difficult side of the draw and leaving the Netherlands to qualify as one of the best teams in third. There is now an increasing likelihood that the Dutch will face England in the next round.

That would see Van Dijk and the in-form Cody Gakpo face off against Trent Alexander-Arnold (if he’s been restored by the wretched Gareth Southgate by then). But the Oranje defender believes there must be a significant improvement by then.

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“A very bad game,” Van Dijk directly admitted to NOS (via De Telegraaf). “We started weak, in possession of the ball but also in duels. Then you are behind the times. It was just a bad evening.

“You have to try to hold the ball more, then you get into the game more. But of course it started with the duels and the energy I put there was not enough.

“We are all responsible. It shouldn’t happen, but it did, and that’s bad. If we want to achieve anything in this tournament, things have to change very quickly.”

Van Dijk saw Liverpool clubmate Gakpo restore parity after Holland had gone behind earlier, cutting in from the left and finishing well to send a clear message to Arne Slot about his best position. But Austria restored the lead minutes later.

It was the same story after Memphis Depay equalized again. The balance lasted even less as Marcel Sabitzer scored what proved to be the winner in the 80th minute.

Van Dijk appeared to walk away after the match, visibly angry at the performance. Although he clearly recovered quickly, having conducted the interview with NOS immediately after the defeat.

Liverpool.com says: Netherlands vs England would be an interesting match in the next round of Euro 2024. They are in a similar boat with star names failing to fully gel as a team.

The 3-2 defeat to Austria looked a lot more entertaining than the lackluster 0-0 draw between England and Slovenia. But Van Dijk is right to call for rapid improvement if the Netherlands are to make anything of this tournament.