Virgil van Dijk was the hero as the Netherlands took a major Euro 2024 advantage over Greece, despite a number of obstacles in the captain’s way.

With France leading the way, Group B in the qualifying rounds for next summer’s Euros took a decisive twist on Monday night.

Prior to their matchup with the Netherlands, Greece was in second place, three points behind Ronald Koeman’s team with one game remaining.

The Dutch needed a penalty from Van Dijk in the third minute of stoppage time to seal a 1-0 victory and seize control of the final automatic qualifying spot

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Midway through the first half, Netherlands had already had one penalty kick saved; Wout Weghorst had been denying seeing a laser pen shine in his eyes throughout the run-up.

For Van Dijk’s effort, the same crowd trickery were employed, but the center-back stepped up and slotted into the top corner with ice-cold assurance.

“You try to stay calm, but that wasn’t easy with the VAR check and all those laser pointers,” the 32-year-old reflected, in quotes carried by De Telegraaf.

Koeman had already acknowledged the presence of laser pens in the crowd at AEK Athens games beforehand, urging UEFA to intervene if it happened on Monday.

His side had played through a rough clash at the Agia Sophia Stadium in Athens, with the Greek fans creating a ferocious atmosphere to give Kostas Tsimikas and his team-mates a boost.

Another factor, according to both Van Dijk and Weghorst, was the state of the pitch, which the latter described as “the worst pitch I have ever played on.”

“There were stones on it!” the striker added, with Van Dijk quoted by NOS as saying: “Terrible. That this field is allowed at this level is unimaginable.”

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Victory puts Netherlands level on points with Greece but above them via head-to-head results and with a game in hand, having beaten Gus Poyet’s side twice in qualifying.