Sawt Falasteen - Dutch 'difficult to beat' despite lack of star names: De Ligt

Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk is the biggest name in Ronald Koeman's squad but De Ligt is confident with most of the team plying their trade in the top European leagues.

"I think we will be difficult to beat," said the Bayern Munich defender.

"It's good that we have a lot of guys at top teams in Europe.

"That’s very important for a tournament like this because it means we have the necessary experience playing against top players every three to four days.

"We have a lot of quality across the board. We have to take it game by game but I think we can certainly go far."

More richly-talented Netherlands squads in the past have been undone by in-fighting among the group.

However, the former Ajax man does not see that as a problem this time around.

"The fact that we don't have any real stars can be an advantage. We have a good time as a group and everyone gets along well," added de Ligt.

“We have a nice, good group. It's about performance. We are working well on that. We have a group that can grow closer together, on and off the field."

The Netherlands have been in drawn in one of the toughest groups in Germany alongside joint-favourites France and a rejuvenated Austria under former Manchester United coach Ralf Rangnick.

Koeman's men begin their campaign against Poland in Hamburg on Sunday.

E.Qaddoumi--SF-PST