The Dutch media made their feelings about Virgil van Dijk’s performance very clear after the Netherlands cruised to a 4-0 win over Malta on Thursday night. The captain’s Liverpool teammate Cody Gakpo scored twice from the penalty spot, with further goals from Tijjani Reijnders and Memphis Depay keeping Ronald Koeman’s side top of Group G.
Heading into next summer’s World Cup, Oranje will no doubt be considered dark horses in the USA, Canada, and Mexico joint-hosted showpiece. With a strong core and spine – and having reached the semi-finals at last year’s European Championship in Germany – they have benefited from keeping their key players in fine fettle over the years.
But after Van Dijk’s latest display, some may feel a little apprehensive about cracks beginning to appear in defence, having grown so used to the 34-year-old delivering timeless performances with the self-assurance of a king on his throne.
Virgil van Dijk Scrutinised by Dutch Press Despite 4-0 Win
Invincible on his day – and still arguably the best defender in world football – the miles are bound to start showing for Van Dijk sooner or later. Signs of that unwanted truth appeared in Malta in midweek, with the colossal Liverpool defender leaving himself open to criticism from the national press.
No player received a worse rating than Van Dijk in Football Oranje’s player rankings after his 90-minute outing produced just one clearance and one error leading to a shot. He also lost possession four times, came up short in both of his ground duels, and committed two fouls that earned him a yellow card. After handing him a 5/10, they wrote:
“Almost gifted Malta a goal early on with a terrible back pass and was booked in the second half for a silly push. Not his finest night.”
Voetbal Primeur gave him an even worse rating of 4.5/10 and wrote: “With a dramatic back pass, he gave Malta a golden opportunity to open the scoring after two minutes. It fizzled out, but the nonchalance was clearly gone. Van Dijk continued to look weak afterward and, to top it all off, received a yellow card.”
Furthermore, Voetbal Zone gave him a 4/10, while Voetbal International handed him a 5.5/10 match rating. The Reds icon was clearly inferior to Arsenal’s Jurrien Timber, who seemed to take the crown off his captain on Thursday night and show that, while Van Dijk’s twilight years are creeping up on him, Timber’s prime years are still ahead, as he got a lot of the praise.
The same could be said for Micky van de Ven, as the Netherlands look to be in a safe pair of hands for years to come. But while Van der Vaart and Van Hooijdonk took a negative approach to the game as a whole during their punditry on Dutch TV, Van Dijk hit back, telling Voetbal Flitsen:
“The guys in the studio know how difficult this can be. Have they forgotten that? That often seems to be the case.”
According to Van Dijk, the Dutch team deserves understanding rather than criticism: “We’re on track for the World Cup. Not pretty, but effective. Sometimes that’s enough.”