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The Netherlands were humiliated by France in Paris, and Virgil van Dijk, a Liverpool defender, lamented their sluggish start and acknowledged that the loss might have an effect.
Virgil van Dijk was part of the defence that conceded four goals against France and has admitted that the loss was a big hit to the team.
The qualification campaign for Euro 2024 got off to the worst conceivable start for the Netherlands as they were humiliated 4-0 and torn apart by their opponents. The World Cup runners-up overcame their disappointment to score twice in the opening seven minutes, with Van Dijk opening that the game was already done at that point.
Van Dijk speaks after France defeat
Nathan Ake who plays for Manchester City was also a part of the Dutch defence, but they were unable to stop Kylian Mbappe. This season, Van Dijk has drawn criticism for several bad performances.
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06:44 - 25.03.2023
Mbappe passes Benzema, reaches new milestone with brace against Netherlands
Kylian Mbappe has overtaken Karim Benzema on France's top scorer's list
Speaking in an interview, he said: “If you are 2-0 down after seven minutes, it will be a hell of a job. It's very bad how we start here. Then you'll be chasing the facts all evening. We will definitely have to look at this. It is difficult to analyse so soon after the game, but after seven minutes it is already done.
"I don't know if it's the worst international match I've had. It sure is a big hit. We tried to recover after that bad start, but we didn't succeed. We had way too many ball losses and were too weak in the duels. France punishes that immediately.
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17:56 - 24.03.2023
It’s always a proud moment to score for England — Rice
Declan Rice scored the first goal for England during their clash against Italy which ended in a 2-1 victory and he was excited to help his team secure the win in the first match of their European Qualification.
"What hurts is that the first and fourth goals came from defensive errors, and, of course, it's also down to the quality of MbappE. We had identified that we had to be very careful about these plays, and we did not pay enough attention. France are a very strong team. They are complete, very physical, fast, especially in attack, and possess world-class players in all sectors. And we are not there yet."
Van Dijk expects his team to get back on track
In order to prepare his team for their upcoming match against European underdogs Gibraltar, Netherlands must now pick themselves up from the loss to France and Van Dijk has challenged himself and his teammates to go all out for a win in their next match.
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23:41 - 24.03.2023
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The Netherlands are expected to face Gibraltar in the next three days and will be hoping they can get back to winning ways and leave the awful defeat to France behind them.
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Mbappe passes Benzema, reaches new milestone with brace against Netherlands
Kylian Mbappe has overtaken Karim Benzema on France's top scorer's list
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