Van Dijk: This Netherlands team can do something special

• Dutch skipper believes squad has talent and team spirit to win the World Cup 

• Van Dijk says painful quarter-final loss to Argentina at Qatar 2022 was a defining experience 

• Liverpool defender insists tournament success is about more than individual stars 

Having captained the Netherlands through the disappointment of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ and the progress of UEFA EURO 2024, Virgil van Dijk believes the Dutch national team are approaching the FIFA World Cup 2026™ with greater maturity, belief and experience than ever before.

Speaking with FIFA, the Liverpool centre-back reflects on the painful quarter-final defeat to eventual champions Argentina in Qatar, explains why success in tournament football requires more than just outstanding individual players, and outlines his belief that this generation can end the country’s long wait for a first World Cup title.

FIFA: What does the FIFA World Cup mean to you personally?  

Virgil van Dijk: In Qatar, it was very special as it was my first finals. I could see then how popular it is all over the world. I've been fortunate to have played several Champions League finals, which are watched everywhere, but a World Cup – the first game was a really special feeling that makes me very proud.

Are you starting this World Cup with a whole different feeling then? 

You take the experience with you from the last finals you played at, personally and for the team. And hopefully you can do something with that, be successful with it. At the finals, it's not only about  who has the best players. There are several factors that determine whether you'll be successful. So, we'll go for it, and you also need to enjoy it, as it's the pinnacle – representing your country at a World Cup. I'm really looking forward to it.  

You're the captain, so what's your responsibility within this team? 

Not only within the Dutch team – I think it's normal for me to have that feeling as I've been the captain for years and at my club, too. But for me it's something very normal in the way I approach games. Before the game and after the game, it's all about – in the end – performing our best as a team and delivering the best performances. And hopefully winning. It's something very normal for me, but it feels good.   

Take us back to the quarter-final against Argentina in 2022.

It was a very intense game against a great country, who were always going to make it difficult and fight until the bitter end. And that's how it turned out. I think we staged an incredible comeback; we had the momentum at that point and perhaps should have kept pushing through. In hindsight, it's always easy to say. They went through and maybe it helped a little bit to process it that they won the World Cup, because at least you can say that you lost to the world champions. It was a very intense game that I've thought about for a long time.   

Explore hospitality packages for the Netherlands' FIFA World Cup 2026 matches

What did you learn from that game? 

Not one thing specifically but it was an experience. A game, a moment – those are games that you just take with you. How you fight back; the team's experience. If you look at how we all celebrated together after making it 2-2 at the corner flag… and the free-kick routine we scored from. Together, those are really beautiful moments that I won't forget anytime soon.  

Ahead of this World Cup, how much will you prepare for penalty shootouts? 

That's what we always do – we did that back then as well. There will always be discussions about taking penalties. But it doesn't mean if you practise taking penalties every day that success is guaranteed. It's important to keep doing it but a good example is that up until the Argentina match, I had scored every penalty during training. Then comes the match, and you miss. That's a bitter pill, but that's football and you just have to deal with it. But it's definitely something we will practise in training. Hopefully we can win the game in normal time but you never know how it will go.

The nation came so close in 1974, 1978 and 2010, have you watched those matches?

In 2010, I definitely did. The other ones, well I'm not that old! But 2010, for sure. It was a fantastic World Cup but it was unfortunate for the Netherlands that it had to end like that. We all remember that chance Arjen [Robben] had, when [Iker] Casillas managed to save it with his toe. That's something you don't forget. But still, for a small country like the Netherlands, we've done pretty well so far. It's just that we want to win that cup. And we definitely have the players who can achieve that. But as I said at the beginning, it takes a lot more than just good players.  

How great is the burden of the fans' expectations for you and the team?

There will always be expectations. We also live in a world now in which people always have an opinion. People will always feel the need to share their opinions. You don't have to listen to that too much. We just need to have a plan as a team, pull in the same direction – also with the support of the fans. That means moving forward, being positive and being successful.  

Do you get a lot of energy from the fans? 

I hope that will happen, yes. It's something that's underestimated perhaps but their support is very important. A good example is the Argentina match in Qatar. It felt like we were playing in Buenos Aires. There were so many fans there, so that's just so important. I'm fortunate to play for a club that has fantastic fans. It's very important, so hopefully in America as a team, we can also count on a lot of support. I understand that's not always easy. But yes, I hope we can.

On a personal level, what would it mean to captain the team to World Cup glory? 

That would be fantastic, of course. But we still have a lot of work to do before we can achieve that. I'm already very proud of my career with the Dutch team so far, and the way I was able to contribute to this generation. How people want to remember me is for them to decide. I hope it will be as a very good captain with great qualities as a defender. We will have to see. 

What do you see in this group that makes you think the team is ready for it? 

Many of the players played at EURO 2024 so that's an experience they had. For many that was their first big tournament. A lot of them are now in their prime. Most of them also play for really big clubs at Champions League level. But for me it always comes down to the fact that it's not about having great players, it's about who has the best team. We, as a team and the staff, have to find the best formula to be successful.  

Do you believe you can win the World Cup with this squad? 

Yes. We have a really tight-knit group and I really believe in it. It's just that you also need luck. You need some players to have special moments and no injuries, especially with the amount of matches you have to play nowadays. It's all those things. But when I look at the group and what we can achieve, I truly believe we can do something very special.