Virgil van Dijk knows the Netherlands lived on their nerves before setting up a Euro 2024 semi-final with England, but has warned Gareth Southgate's men that they are a team on a mission.
The Dutch skipper needed to be at his best as his side repelled a late flurry of Turkey attacks before securing their come-from-behind victory in Berlin.
Samet Akaydin had headed Turkey ahead in front of their incredible fans 10 minutes before the break, before two Dutch goals in six second half minutes - the first from Van Dijk’s centre-back partner Stefan de Vrij and the second a Mert Muldur own goal forced by Cody Gakpo - put them ahead.
But Ronald Koeman’s side still needed a fine late save from Brighton goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen to secure their win.
"It is natural to go very deep at the end,” said Van Dijk. “You know that they are going to take a lot of risks and pump balls in.
"But winning is important and beautiful. We need that. Of course we knew that there would be a lot of Turks in the stadium tonight, but the support was very good. We had to go very deep and I am proud of these guys."
Dutch boss Koeman brought giant forward Wout Weghorst on at half-time in a bid to change things for his side, and Van Dijk said there was a change of attitude too.
"In the second half, we had to stay calm and take advantage of the chances we got,” he said. “We did that well.”
Van Dijk will now come face-to-face with several familar faces from the Premier League when the Dutch take on England in Dortmund on Wednesday, and he’s warning the Three Lions they’ll be up against a team on a mission.
"We did everything we could to reach the semi-finals,” he said. “Now it's time to recover and prepare for another tough match. We can get to work. We all want to make our dream come true. We are one step closer."
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