Van Dijk hits back at Dutch pundits after Japan draw

Netherlands captain Virgil van Dijk pushed back against criticism from Dutch pundits following his team's 2-2 draw against Japan in their World Cup opener. Several former Dutch players suggested the team played too defensively after Japan equalized late in the match.

“

The frustration is that the goal came from a set-piece situation because we were actually able to defend well.

Van Dijk, who was named man of the match, disagreed with the assessment. "The frustration is that the goal came from a set-piece situation because we were actually able to defend well," he stated, as reported by Mirror. He acknowledged Japan made it difficult in the first half with a disciplined defense that closed down space.

“

It was difficult to break them down in the first half because Japan played very compactly. Especially in midfield, they really closed down all the space. That's why we had to move the ball to the other side faster.

However, pundits like Rafael van der Vaart and Pierre van Hooijdonk voiced different opinions. Van der Vaart felt the team created its own problems by becoming too defensive after a promising period. Van Hooijdonk criticized the substitutions, arguing they removed the team's attacking threat and speed, forcing coach Ronald Koeman to try and rectify the situation later.

“

You actually create that problem yourself. When the game started to look promising, suddenly the team became very defensive.