On July 10th, Netherlands goalkeeper Viborg spoke to UEFA ahead of their European Championship semi-final against England.
On beating Turkey
Viborg: “In the last ten minutes of the game, I felt like there were six goalkeepers! Weghorst cleared a rebound, Van de Ven made a great interception, Dumfries blocked Çalhanoğlu’s shot, and both Schouten and De Vrij blocked shots…”
“Maybe I’m missing some, but it shows the unity in the Netherlands team. We celebrated every interception and block like a goal, that’s how determined we were.”
On the difference between modern and traditional goalkeepers
Viborg: “Modern football requires goalkeepers to initiate attacks, I feel comfortable in that role. Goalkeepers definitely need to be involved in the tactical aspect of attack building, you have to think about how to deal with opponent pressure.”
“But don’t forget, my primary job is still saving shots. I’ll try my best to do that, I want to become an all-around goalkeeper, I’m constantly looking to improve.”
On his club teammates in the England team
Viborg: “Dunk is in the England team, and besides that, a lot of my Netherlands teammates also play in the Premier League, like Ake, Van Dijk and Gakpo. Maybe that’s an advantage. In any case, I don’t care where my opponents are from, I just want to win.”
On the possibility of a penalty shootout
Viborg: “Of course, everyone wants to win in 90 minutes, but if it comes to a penalty shootout, we’ll be ready. Our coaching staff, analysts, and goalkeeping coaches are all prepared.”
“I enjoy penalty shootouts, I’ve saved a lot of penalties. If it comes to that, I’ll confidently walk up to the goal and try to be decisive for the team, do what I can.”
This article is from a user submission and does not represent the views of Soccer News Pick. If you repost it, please indicate the source: https://www.soccernewspick.com/uefa-european-championship/7557.html
