Steven Berghuis was one of the few bright spots on an otherwise dark evening in the friendly international match between the Netherlands and Mexico (0-1) last week. In the run-up to Sunday’s Nations League game with Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Feyenoord attacker talks about his ambition and is also self-critical. Playing a final tournament is Berghuis’ absolute dream and that is also the reason why he does not just go abroad again. “Playing a final tournament is every player’s dream.”

“As a top athlete, I would like to reach the European Championship and then the World Cup. I work very hard for that. It was also the reason not to just go abroad, to a club of which I do not know where I would end up, ”Berghuis emphasizes in conversation with The Telegraph. “At Feyenoord I know that this season, with the Europa League there, I will play fifty matches and stay in the picture with the Dutch national team. And if there are opportunities, I have to take them. ”

The difference between the Berghuis of Feyenoord and the Berghuis of Oranje is immense: 58 goals in 112 matches versus 0 goals in 17 international matches. “That is a big difference, yes. But with the Orange there were also many games in between that I came in for five or ten minutes. They are numbers that are not good enough. That seems clear to me. In Orange you have to deliver and I am not satisfied with that. ” Ronald Koeman often made different choices with Steven Bergwijn and Quincy Promes on the right. “They were guys who had shown themselves in the Champions League. Until now I have not really been able to force a permanent position. ”

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“I always try to create something and make a difference both defensively and offensively,” Berghuis replies when asked what he can add to the Dutch national team. “If, just like at Feyenoord, I am going to make my goals and create opportunities for my teammates, then as an attacker you will certainly add something to the Orange. This has not happened often enough to date. ” Berghuis does not intend to leave Feyenoord just like that. He’s made a sort of list for himself with ten, fifteen clubs he’d like to think about. “But there was no interest for a long time,” admits the attacker, who has a limited transfer fee of eight million euros in his contract.

The European Championship can serve as a springboard to the European top next year. “Top clubs watch how you play top matches. At Feyenoord I have never once wintered European. I think it does play a role in how you stand in Europe. I often compare it to the guys from Ajax, who also play in the Eredivisie, but have had a great Champions League campaign, which makes them wanted by the clubs in Europe. That is also something we have to go with Feyenoord and, according to Frank Arnesen, we want to. I still have the ambition to take the step, because I want to get the most out of my career. ”