Van Dijk warns compatriots over complacency after Netherlands’ successive wins

Virgil van Dijk urged the Netherlands not to get complacent despite Monday’s 4-0 win at Estonia sealing back-to-back Euro 2020 qualifying victories.

The Oranje cruised in Tallinn, with Ryan Babel’s brace added to by Memphis Depay and Georginio Wijnaldum in the final stages.

The victory moved Netherlands back to within three points of second-placed Northern Ireland in Group C, having also claimed a 4-2 triumph away to Germany on Friday.

Ronald Koeman’s men face Northern Ireland in their next match in October, knowing defeat in Rotterdam will leave them looking destined to miss out on Euro 2020, while a win takes them level on points.

This international break could not have gone much better for the Netherlands, but Van Dijk is wary of them getting overexcited with plenty still left to do.

“We have done very well with two wins, but we are not there yet,” Van Dijk told NOS. “We also want to win the next two European Championship qualifying matches.”

As for Monday’s straightforward win, Van Dijk insisted the Dutch knew Estonia would fall apart under pressure.

“We knew that they would collapse a lot and that we had to be patient,” he said. “We also had to remove their counter. That worked out pretty well, although we could have put a little more pressure in the first half.

“No team could sustain this resistance. We exchanged better from side to side, which gave us more chances and therefore enabled us to score more. No, I didn’t find it a nasty evening.”