Belgium no longer intimidated by Dutch – Alderweireld
Belgium defender Toby Alderweireld said he and his teammates are no longer intimidated by the prospect of taking on northern neighbours the Netherlands who they face in Friday’s Nations League derby.
The former Ajax Amsterdam and Tottenham Hotspur centre back has returned to the Belgium squad for the first time in eight months and is looking forward to the League A Group Four clash in Brussels, given his past connection with the Dutch.
The Netherlands have been historically more successful than their neighbours having finished runners-up at the World Cup three times, while Belgium had only once reached the semifinal prior to the last tournament in Russia.
“Maybe the intensity of the rivalry is a little less, certainly from our point of view. We used to look up to the Netherlands but that’s gone now,” Alderweireld told a news conference on Wednesday.
Belgium have spent most of the last three years top of the Fifa rankings and reached the World Cup semifinal four years ago while the Dutch failed to qualify for Russia 2018.
“Now I think it is foremost a clash between two big footballing countries. I’m really looking forward to it and we certainly want to win,” he added
While teammate Kevin De Bruyne has labelled the Nations League “unimportant” and said he was not looking forward to playing the four games over the next fortnight, the 33-year-old Alderweireld, now at Qatari club Al Duhail, said he was keen to add to his 118 caps.
“In Qatar there is a lot less pressure than I had when I was still playing in the Premier League, so I’ve arrived fresh,” he said.
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“These four matches are not physically intimidating for me and it’s great that we start against the Netherlands. For sure, it will be a special match, for sure in front of a full house. The motivation is certainly there.”
Belgium goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, fresh from winning the Champions League with Real Madrid, is out with a groin strain.
Belgium follow Friday’s Dutch derby with a second game in Brussels next Wednesday against Poland before away clashes against Wales in Cardiff on 11 June and Poland in Warsaw on 14 June.