Michael van Gerwen has claimed the Netherlands have 'not even ten per cent' chance of winning the football World Cup, while insisting the Dutch darts team have a '100%' better chance. Speaking after his victory over Oskar Lukasiak at the Nordic Darts Masters in Copenhagen, the three-time world champion was asked to compare the prospects of the two national teams.
Van Gerwen, who will partner Gian van Veen for the first time at the darts World Cup next week, said: 'We have a much bigger chance. That's one thing for sure — 100%.' On the football side, he was far less optimistic: 'Minimal. Not even ten per cent of me winning the World Championship — could you imagine that? They don't have a striker. I can't say a lot about this, but I'm not going to do it. We are not in the top five favourites, let's put it that way.'
The Dutchman booked his place in the final day of the Nordic Darts Masters with a hard-fought win over Lukasiak, who he revealed is battling dartitis. 'I think I felt good. But it started off every time in the first two legs. I had so many first darts sitting comfortably in the treble 20 and I couldn't follow them up. Then I had a couple of really sloppy legs afterwards. You shouldn't put yourself in that position, but that's unfortunately darts,' said Van Gerwen. 'You also have to look at Oskar. I know Oskar quite well and I know he's got dartitis. He was struggling at some point, but it is what it is. You need to make sure you get the win over the line, and that's the only thing that matters.'
Van Gerwen now faces Sweden's Viktor Tingstrom, who dumped out defending champion Stephen Bunting. The Dutchman praised the Copenhagen crowd but admitted frustration with his own performance. 'I think the crowd has been great. I can't complain about this crowd. They've always been fantastic and I hope I'm going to see another fantastic crowd tomorrow.' He added: 'When I started the game, my first dart was sitting lovely in the treble 20 a couple of times and I couldn't follow it up. I was getting a bit annoyed with myself.'
Van Gerwen also revealed he did not watch the Premier League final, having been on holiday in Ibiza. 'I didn't watch any of it. Not even a dot. I saw the result later in the evening when I was watching the news.' He brushed off questions about Luke Littler's emotional issues, saying: 'I'm not there, so there's nothing to worry about.' Looking ahead, he said: 'First you have to look at tomorrow, then next week the World Cup, and then the week after Bratislava. That's the way it is: step by step, game by game, day by day.'
