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Virgil van Dijk found himself being blamed by the Dutch media for his part in the Netherlands conceding during a disappointing 1-1 draw against Poland on Friday.
Memphis Depay’s second-half equalizer means Ronald Koeman’s side is all but guaranteed a place at next year’s World Cup now. The Netherlands sit three points clear in their qualifying group heading into the final game, and with a 13-goal advantage over Poland, it would take a remarkable set of results to deny them a spot in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Nevertheless, it wasn’t a comfortable night in Warsaw, especially for Liverpool’s trio of Van Dijk, Ryan Gravenberch and Cody Gakpo.
The Reds’ captain in particular has come in for some criticism for his part in Jakub Kaminski’s opener, which threatened to make it an awkward few days leading up to Monday’s final game against Lithuania.
Bemoaning the Netherlands’ first-half performance, De Telegraaf wrote in their report: “The fact that the Dutch team, seemingly in control, went into the dressing room trailing at halftime was the result of a series of errors. Depay lost the ball, Timber unnecessarily and halfheartedly stepped through on Robert Lewandowski, Virgil van Dijk was positioned incorrectly, and Geertruida let Kaminski charge through inside the box at Verbruggen. This time, he finally found the net: 1-0.”
Van Dijk and his Liverpool teammates didn’t fare too well elsewhere as their performances were graded. The defender, along with Gravenberch and Gakpo, were all awarded 6/10s by Algemeen Dagblad, with the Dutch outlet not too impressed.
On Van Dijk, they wrote: “The Dutch captain, like his teammates, wasn't razor-sharp. And at 1-0, he probably would have done better to close the gap on his right when Kaminksi began his run.”
Summing up Gravenberch’s performance, they added: “The Liverpool player was the Gravenberch we know, available for passes and looking for the solution forward. That wasn't easy. Poland wasn't exactly willing to pull out all the stops, and even less so after the 1-0.”
And on Gakpo, they wrote: “The Poles kept the spaces small, so Gakpo found himself in a wall for the entire half. He also saw full-back Cash constantly join the attack. Immediately after halftime, his most important moment came when he delivered a cross to Malen, which he didn't finish, but Depay did.”
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The Liverpool trio fared worse in Football-Oranje’s ratings, with Van Dijk and Gravenberch awarded 5.5s, while Gakpo was given a 5/10 - the lowest rating alongside Lutsharel Geertruida.
Commenting on Van Dijk’s performance, they wrote: “Caught out for the goal with his lack of pace and he looked shaky early on. Did well at times against Lewandowski but needs to be better. Booted the ball out of play at times when trying to play forward.”
On Gravenberch, they added: “Was far too invisible throughout the game and did little.”
As for Gakpo, they wrote: “The Netherlands look to Gakpo to create and do something special. He tried but it just didn’t come off against Poland. His position is nailed on in the starting line-up but he can do much better.”
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