Virgil van Dijk has taken to Instagram with an emotional reflection on Netherlands’ surprisingly early exit from the World Cup.
Despite topping their group with seven points from a possible nine, the Oranje crashed out in the round of 32 after losing on penalties to Morocco, who struck a last-gasp equaliser to take the match into stoppage time prior to the shootout.
In the wake of that result, the Liverpool captain was the subject of a defamatory dressing-down by outspoken Dutch columnist Valentijn Driessen, who raged that the 34-year-old ‘betrayed everything our national team stands for’.
A week on from Netherlands’ World Cup elimination, Van Dijk took to Instagram to express his lingering heartbreak at seeing his nation fall short in their quest for the trophy.
The defender posted: ‘As captain, all I ever wanted was to make this country proud. To see our World Cup end so early is heartbreaking because I know how much this team gave every single day.
‘A lot has been said and that is for another day. Now is about accepting that we failed, and we take full responsibility for that. I’d like to thank our travelling fans and everyone back home who believed in us and stood by us until the end. We saw you, and we felt your support every step of the way.’
Want more Empire of the Kop coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for news you can trust
This statement is indicative of Virgil van Dijk as a person and a footballer – searingly honest, heartfelt and demanding of high standards.
The penalty shootout defeat to Morocco will have been especially hard on the Netherlands captain, who’ll be almost 39 when the next World Cup begins, with this year almost certainly being his last shot at winning the biggest prize in international football.
It remains to be seen whether he’ll hang on for one final chance at a major tournament with the Oranje, namely Euro 2028, with some reports suggesting that he could retire from national team duty after their World Cup dreams died last week.
Should he choose to keep going with his country, he could potentially be reunited with Arne Slot, who’s reportedly being considered as a candidate to fill the head coach vacancy created by the departure of Ronald Koeman.
The pain of World Cup elimination is evidently still very raw for Van Dijk, who’ll now have a well-earned holiday this month before returning to Liverpool for a season which’ll hopefully have a happier ending than Netherlands’ quest for glory in North America.
With just 12 months remaining on his contract at Anfield, there could be an especially poignant farewell to Merseyside next May, but we hold out hope that he might just decide to stay on a little while longer.
Welcome to our Live Comments section, where new comments will appear automatically
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *
Notify me of follow-up comments by email.
Notify me of new posts by email.
