Following the Netherlands’ 4-0 victory over Malta on Thursday night, the Dutch media expressed their thoughts on Virgil van Dijk’s performance. Cody Gakpo, the captain’s Liverpool colleague, scored twice from the penalty spot, while Tijjani Reijnders and Memphis Depay added goals to keep Ronald Koeman’s side top of Group G.
Oranje will undoubtedly be regarded dark horses for next summer’s World Cup, which will be hosted jointly by the United States, Canada, and Mexico. With a strong core and spine, and having advanced to the semi-finals of last year’s European Championship in Germany, they have benefited by keeping their key players in good shape throughout time.
But following Van Dijk’s latest performance, some may be concerned about gaps appearing in defence, having grown accustomed to the 34-year-old delivering timeless performances with the confidence of a monarch on his throne.
Virgil Van Dijk Despite their 4-0 victory, the Dutch press scrutinises them.
Van Dijk, who is invincible on his day and is still widely regarded as the best defender in the world, will eventually reveal his age. Signs of that unwelcome truth emerged in Malta in midweek, when the massive Liverpool defender opened himself up to criticism from the national press.
In Football Oranje’s player rankings, no player had a lower rating than Van Dijk, who made only one clearance and one blunder that resulted in a shooting in 90 minutes. He also lost possession four times, failed to win both of his ground duels, and committed two fouls, earning him a yellow card. After giving him a 5/10, they wrote:
“I almost gave Malta a goal early on with a horrible back pass and was booked in the second half for a stupid push. “Not his best night.”
Voetbal Primeur gave him an even lower rating of 4.5/10, writing, “With a dramatic back pass, he gave Malta a golden opportunity to open the scoring after two minutes.” It fizzled out, but the casualness was plainly gone. Van Dijk continued to seem weak afterward, and he was also given a yellow card.
Furthermore, Voetbal Zone rated him 4/10, and Voetbal International gave him a 5.5/10 match rating. The Reds hero was plainly inferior to Arsenal’s Jurrien Timber, who appeared to take the crown away from his captain on Thursday night and demonstrate that, while Van Dijk’s twilight years are approaching, Timber’s prime years are still ahead of him, as he received a lot of plaudits.
The same could be said for Micky van de Ven, who appears to have the Netherlands in good hands for the foreseeable future. While Van der Vaart and Van Hooijdonk took a harsh stance on the game as a whole during their punditry on Dutch TV, Van Dijk responded, telling Voetbal Flitsen:
“The guys in the studio understand how difficult this can be.” Have they forgotten this? That often appears to be the case.
Van Dijk believes the Dutch team deserves understanding rather than criticism: “We’re on pace for the World Cup. Not attractive, but effective. Sometimes it is enough.”
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