The hero of Liverpool, Virgil van Dijk, has puzzled the Englishman Gareth Southgate for years

Gareth Southgate admits he was "surprised" that he did not use any of the big six in the Premier League, Virgil van Dijk, when he turned to English football.

The captain and central defender of the Netherlands, Van Dijk, has become one of the best players in the world since his transfer to Liverpool, the new champion of Europe, 18 months ago. Southampton got it for a £ 11m deal in 2015, won by Scottish title winner Celtic.

England boss Southgate is now accused of trying to find a way out for Van Dijk in the League of Nations semi-finals on Thursday, but is confident his players are up to the challenge.

The former center of the Three Lions said: "He is a high-level defender. I thought at Celtic. I was surprised that one of the first six did not pick it up sooner. All defenders, all players have strengths and things that can be exposed.

"He's not alone – he has a very good young partner [in0demand Ajax captain Matthijs de Ligt] tomorrow too. But our challenge is to break these defenses and expose the weaknesses that the Dutch could have. He had a fantastic season. But we also have players who have had fantastic seasons. "

England beat the Netherlands 1-0 in Amsterdam 14 months ago in the first match of their boss Ronald Koeman, but the Dutch have evolved a lot since then.

"It was a good match. Everyone said that it was the worst Dutch team in 20 years, but we saw Van Dijk, Wijnaldum, Depay … we did not see it like that. They have improved a lot in the last 18 months, "said Southgate.

"Ronald is an exceptional and experienced coach, so I'm not surprised. But we have also improved. Tomorrow will be a snapshot of the current situation of both teams. I think it will be an exciting game. A good atmosphere in a narrow stadium. These are the nights in which you want to be involved.

Southgate also challenged its players to leave a legacy for the future and insisted that it was time for England to win silverware.

In Sunday's final against Portugal, he added: "That's what we want to do. You do not have to go to the semi-finals and say we're here to enjoy and see how things go. We want to come here and win it. We progress as a team.

"No matter what happens over the next four days, we know that the trip we are undertaking next summer is pleased with the progress we have made. But we want to start winning things. We are all hungry for that. We want to leave Sunday with a trophy and a beautiful summer to hope. "