Dutch coach Koeman praises performance but Van Dijk wants more

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Advertisement Sport Dutch coach Koeman praises performance but Van Dijk wants more Soccer Football - International Friendly - Netherlands v Norway - Johan Cruijff Arena, Amsterdam, Netherlands - March 27, 2026 Netherlands' Virgil van Dijk celebrates scoring their first goal REUTERS/Piroschka Van De Wouw 28 Mar 2026 04:32PM Bookmark Bookmark Share WhatsApp Telegram Facebook Twitter Email LinkedIn Set CNA as your preferred source on Google Add CNA as a trusted source to help Google better understand and surface our content in search results. Click here to return to FAST Tap here to return to FAST FAST AMSTERDAM, March 28 : Netherlands coach Ronald Koeman praised his team’s performance after their 2-1 win over Norway in a World Cup warm-up on Friday in Amsterdam, but captain Virgil van Dijk felt there was still work to do ahead of the global soccer showpiece. The Dutch next meet Ecuador in Eindhoven on Tuesday and will play Algeria in June as they continue their preparations for the World Cup, which is scheduled from June 11 to July 19 in North America. "This was simply a very good match from us against a very strong country," Koeman said in a press conference. "It is somewhat typically Dutch to think that when you play Norway, you have to beat them. Van Dijk was less enthusiastic about his side's performance and did not want to answer a question about whether the Dutch were genuine contenders for the World Cup, which is being held in Canada, Mexico and the United States. “There is still work to be done.

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Dutch coach Koeman praises performance but Van Dijk wants more
Soccer Football - International Friendly - Netherlands v Norway - Johan Cruijff Arena, Amsterdam, Netherlands - March 27, 2026 Netherlands' Virgil van Dijk celebrates scoring their first goal REUTERS/Piroschka Van De Wouw
28 Mar 2026 04:32PM
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AMSTERDAM, March 28 : Netherlands coach Ronald Koeman praised his team’s performance after their 2-1 win over Norway in a World Cup warm-up on Friday in Amsterdam, but captain Virgil van Dijk felt there was still work to do ahead of the global soccer showpiece.
The Dutch next meet Ecuador in Eindhoven on Tuesday and will play Algeria in June as they continue their preparations for the World Cup, which is scheduled from June 11 to July 19 in North America.
"This was simply a very good match from us against a very strong country," Koeman said in a press conference.
"It is somewhat typically Dutch to think that when you play Norway, you have to beat them. That is not the case. In the qualifiers, they beat Italy twice.
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"Norway also had good phases against us, but looking at the entire match, I think we deserved to win."
The Netherlands, who were playing without several regulars, fell behind to an early strike from Andreas Schjelderup but fought back through goals from Van Dijk and Tijjani Reijnders.
Van Dijk was less enthusiastic about his side's performance and did not want to answer a question about whether the Dutch were genuine contenders for the World Cup, which is being held in Canada, Mexico and the United States.
“There is still work to be done. In spells it went well, but at other times less so,” he said.
“I thought we were better in the second half, partly because they were a bit more tired. Ultimately, we had enough chances to score more goals. Defensively, we were also solid. We won deservedly and now we move on.”
The Netherlands are in Group F at the World Cup with Japan, Tunisia, and either Poland or Sweden.
(Writing by Mark Gleeson in Cape Town; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
Source: Reuters
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## Expert Analysis

### Merits
- The Dutch next meet Ecuador in Eindhoven on Tuesday and will play Algeria in June as they continue their preparations for the World Cup, which is scheduled from June 11 to July 19 in North America. "This was simply a very good match from us against a very strong country," Koeman said in a press conference. "It is somewhat typically Dutch to think that when you play Norway, you have to beat them.

### Areas for Consideration
- CNA Games Guess Word Crack the word, one row at a time Buzzword Create words using the given letters Mini Sudoku Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser Mini Crossword Small grid, big challenge Word Search Spot as many words as you can Show More Show Less "Norway also had good phases against us, but looking at the entire match, I think we deserved to win." The Netherlands, who were playing without several regulars, fell behind to an early strike from Andreas Schjelderup but fought back through goals from Van Dijk and Tijjani Reijnders.

### Implications
- The Dutch next meet Ecuador in Eindhoven on Tuesday and will play Algeria in June as they continue their preparations for the World Cup, which is scheduled from June 11 to July 19 in North America. "This was simply a very good match from us against a very strong country," Koeman said in a press conference. "It is somewhat typically Dutch to think that when you play Norway, you have to beat them.

### Expert Commentary
This article covers fast, van, netherlands topics. Notable strengths include discussion of fast. Areas of concern are also raised. Readability: Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.0. Word count: 584.