Van Dijk's warning to Messi in the duel between Holland and Argentina

The Netherlands is living the last hours with full enthusiasm, as they will be playing in the quarterfinals of the World Cup in Qatar. In addition, the players of the national team are focused on what will be a final-level match. As a serious contender to win the championship, the "Clockwork Orange" players are aware of the level of play they are up against. That is why, Virgil van Dijk wanted to make it clear that they are up against Argentina and not just Lionel Messi.

"They are a strong team, with one of the best players of all time, but we are very well prepared to face them. We are not playing against Messi, but against the whole team. We are talking about one of the best players of all time. They have been at the top level with Cristiano Ronaldo for 15 years and that generates respect. We only have respect for his achievements," commented Virgil van Dijk.

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"It's an honor to play against him. But it's not me against him, not Netherlands against him, it's Netherlands against Argentina. Nobody can do it alone, we will have to come up with a good plan," continued the Dutch captain. The Netherlands are coming off an emphatic win over the United States to reaffirm their bid to be in the final and fight for the World Cup championship, while Argentina did the same against Australia.

"To be honest, I'm not worried. I'm warned about the danger Argentina can create because they are a fantastic team with fantastic players, so we're going to have to be very vigilant in all our lines and facets of play. We have to be ready for this," concluded the center-back. Thus, everything is ready for one of the most important and eye-catching duels of the quarterfinals to take place. The winner of this match will have to wait for the winner of the match between Croatia and Brazil.

<strong>Van Dijk accepts criticism</strong>

The Dutch are in the quarterfinals of the World Cup. They have not lost any match but the team's environment and the fans have not stopped criticizing Louis Van Gaal's squad. Finally, "I don't mind the criticism, I even understand it. We also think that our game can be improved. That we could have played better. There is still room for improvement. That's the best thing about us. The good thing is that we are progressing and that we are perfectionists. That's our philosophy," Van Dijk said.