Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk makes his feelings on Kylian Mbappe crystal clear

Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk has assessed the threat posed by France's Kylian Mbappe as the pair prepare to do battle following the Netherlands' dramatic win in its Euro 2024 opener.

The Reds center-back will be tasked with minimizing the threat posed by the prolific forward, who will also lead his nation out as the two teams face off in Group D. Arguably the pick of the games at this stage in the competition, this match between two of the tournament favorites represents an early test for both sides.

Both teams are well-acquainted with each other, with the Netherlands having faced France on two occasions in qualification for the finals in Germany. Les Bleus prevailed both times, inflicting a 4-0 defeat in March of last year before beating their next opponents 2-1 again back in September.

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Now, Van Dijk has weighed up the Mbappe's qualities before what promises to be an intriguing clash, as he acknowledged: "Look, everyone knows his qualities. We have to be at our best as a team in order to stop them [France] from scoring, but obviously he is a world class player that can make the difference in one split second.

"But we have to be ready as a team for a different kind of challenge and I think we've shown what we can do over the last couple of games," he continued, as he talked up the ability of his own team's backline, adding: "We have a top level defence ready to be tested on Friday. That game is now the big one."

Addressing the two losses versus France in the qualifiers, he added: "We struggled them in our last couple of games against them but I am looking forward to that. The focus will be on recovery and making sure that everything's ready for what a huge test that will be."

The Netherlands defender was also left feeling optimistic after his country's late win over Poland in their first game in the group. Eventually seeing out a 2-1 win, former Manchester United forward Wout Weghorst was on hand with a timely strike in the 83rd minute to secure all three points for Ronald Koeman's team.

Van Dijk said of the triumph: "You just have to stay calm and patient and I think we did, obviously. I think it's very important to keep pushing, keep the confidence in each other and I think we did. Guys who came off the bench made a difference and that's what we need. I don't think that there is anyone in the team that has a give-up mentality.

"It's about keeping going and trying to keep creating. Wout eventually scored and I think we got what we deserved. I'm glad for Wout obviously and for the whole team and nation that we got our first win. I think the main thing was that we need everyone."

The Kop hero added: "When he came from the bench he made a big impact with the goal but he also brings a lot of energy, he brings a different type of dimension to our game that's very needed as well. And yeah, you know, we need that from the bench. Let's keep going."