"It's not that we meet for coffee every week, but our bond is good" - Michael van Gerwen and Danny Noppert dream of world title at World Cup of Darts

The Netherlands begins tonight's World Cup of Darts. Michael van Gerwen and Danny Noppert were the third series leaders unranked for the group stage and will take on Belgium in the eighth finals in a replay of last year.

The loss of Gerwyn Price even pushed the Netherlands up to second place with the bookies. "Dropping Price gives us more chances, it's just like that. But I'm not going to say: we are the best! Maybe Michael will," Noppert laughed to AD.nl.

"No, England is heavily top favorite," Van Gerwen adds. "But Danny is in better shape than many others. He rarely fails, you can build on that. As for other countries: Belgium is a strong team, but yes.... Last year was a mismatch with them. Whether I would play with someone I don't like? No."

For Noppert, this is his fourth participation in the World Cup of Darts. In 2020 he made his debut alongside Van Gerwen, the past two years he played alongside Dirk van Duijvenbode due to Van Gerwen's injury problems. "This is a great reward for me," said 'The Freeze'. "I had a lot of fun with Dirk, but with Michael I also have a good relationship. It's not that we meet for coffee every week, but our bond is good. Last week we watched the European Championship match Netherlands - France," said Noppert.

"Danny is a prototype Frisian," Van Gerwen said. "He's stoic, does his thing nicely. He acts normal, then he's crazy enough and he's just a sweet guy. But whether it's Danny, Dirk or Raymond: I have no problem with any of them. I just want to play with someone who goes for it and not one of those lapdogs who thinks it's already nice to be there. Because whether I'm in shape or not: I always have the intention to give everything and win. I expect the same from Danny, so I'm looking forward to it."

"No, I'm not bouncing around the stage," Noppert said. "I just need my focus and don't tense up that easily. Raymond is not a fuss-maker either and with him Michael has always done extremely well in my opinion. I want to pop, also for Michael, because it's in his nature to win everything. It is also clear that he is the leader who starts and throws on bullseye prior to the match. There is no doubt about that and seems more than justified to me."

So the division of roles with Van Gerwen as the leader is clear. "It has to be, otherwise you get irritations and you're not 100 percent. In the end, you just have to make sure you do your own thing. Working toward each other's favorite double? I don't look at that. You feel most comfortable when you play your own game and I think that's the most important thing," Van Gerwen said.

So Van Gerwen and Noppert started the World Cup of Darts with confidence. "People call it a World Cup, but I think the tournament is too short to really call it a world title," Van Gerwen believes. "In 'Ally Pally' you really become a world champion," Noppert adds.

Noppert doesn't expect a big tribute if they win the world title, either. "If you look at where we are, we should go far and it would be super nice to hold that cup in the air on behalf of the Netherlands, but I don't think we will get a canal cruise if we win (laughs)."