Ronald Koeman praised the Netherlands’ display following their 2-1 victory over Norway in a World Cup warm-up match in Amsterdam on Friday, though captain Virgil van Dijk insisted there is still room for improvement ahead of the global tournament.

The Dutch side will next face Ecuador in Eindhoven on Tuesday before taking on Algeria in June, as preparations continue for the World Cup scheduled to run from June 11 to July 19 in North America.

Speaking at a press conference, Koeman described the performance as a strong one against tough opposition.

“It was a very good game from us against a strong nation,” he said.

He added that expectations can sometimes be misleading, noting it is typical to assume the Netherlands should easily beat Norway, which is not always the case—especially considering Norway defeated Italy twice during qualifying.

Koeman acknowledged that Norway had their moments in the match, but maintained that, overall, his team deserved the win.

The Netherlands, missing several regular starters, went behind early after a strike from Andreas Schjelderup, but responded with goals from Virgil van Dijk and Tijjani Reijnders to secure the win.

Despite the comeback, captain Van Dijk was not fully satisfied with the overall performance and declined to be drawn on whether the Dutch are genuine World Cup contenders, with the tournament set to take place across Canada, Mexico, and the United States.

“There is still work to be done. At times we played well, but in other moments we didn’t,” he said.

“I think we improved in the second half, partly because they began to tire. In the end, we created enough chances to score more. Defensively, we were solid as well. The win was deserved, and now we move forward.”

The Netherlands have been drawn in Group F at the World Cup alongside Japan, Tunisia, and either Poland or Sweden.