Van Dijk demands a point for the Oranje after a controversial goal

Captain Virgil van Dijk said that the Netherlands “had minimally deserved a point” in the meeting with Germany, after Cody Gakpo scored the equaliser in the closing stages at the Johan Cruyff Arena. The Dutch defender praised the play, but criticised a controversial decision by the referee.

Controversial disallowing of the first goal

Van Dijk saw the opening scorer of Germany wrongly disallowed. He stated that the ball had not been impeded by the Netherlands striker Brian Brobbey and that the referee had “easily disallowed the first goal”. According to him Brian “did absolutely nothing” and was merely standing in the spot.

Gakpo’s late strike and the overall match analysis

Thanks to a late strike from Gakpo the match ended 1‑1. The Liverpool player thereby recorded his 25th international goal for the Netherlands and praised an assist from Ruben van Bommel: “He delivered a beautiful ball with the outside of his foot, I just shot it in.” Van Dijk emphasized that the Netherlands had played very well in spells, but admitted that the team was sometimes vulnerable under pressure.

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Mexx Meerdink, who replaced Brobbey early in the match, was pleased with his unexpected role. He just missed an international goal, but said: “If I use the sliding earlier, I just slide it in. Now I’m a millimetre short.” Meerdink analysed his own play and mentioned both good moments and ball loss.

Van Bommel received praise for his debut for the Netherlands, in which he provided a beautiful assist for the 1‑1. He praised Gakpo’s finishing: “If you can finish so flying with the inside of the foot, that’s impressive, you know.”

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Denzel Dumfries spoke about the intensity of the match: “If you play for the Dutch national team, you always have to deliver passion.” The right‑back looked back satisfied on the second half, in which he saw many positive moments.