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Virgil van Dijk laid into his Netherlands teammates after the 3-2 win over Lithuania, labelling Sunday’s performance as "sloppy" and "just bad."
The Dutch emerged from Kaunas with all three points, but it took a late Memphis Depay strike to secure a difficult victory. It had started so well for the Netherlands, after it took an early two-goal lead via Depay and Quinten Timber.
But Lithuania, the side ranked 143rd the the world, netted twice before the break, which infuriated Liverpool captain Van Dijk and his international teammates. While Depay’s winning goal - a record-breaking 52nd for the Netherlands - ensured the side remains top of its World Cup qualifying group, it did not divert attention away from an underwhelming performance.
Asked for his verdict on the performance, Van Dijk told NOS: “A bad night. I think it's only a great night for Memphis, who is now the number one in the Netherlands with his goals.
“For the rest, a very bad night. We went up 2-0 and then it became 2-2 far too easily. Then you make it difficult for yourself here, and that's bad.
“Sloppy possession, not winning duels, not winning the second ball, and I think we kept the ball too much on one side.
“That made it easy for them to run over. It was just bad. The three points are the most important, but if we want to make progress, this can't happen.”
On the two goals the Netherlands conceded, Van Dijk added: “With the first goal, he dribbled past us far too easily, and a foul simply had to be committed. With the second goal, Stefan [de Vrij] was blocked.”
The result leaves the Netherlands on 10 points after four World Cup qualifying matches, the same number as Poland. Crucially, the Dutch have played one game fewer.
The top two drew when they met in Rotterdam last week, and November’s clash in Warsaw is likely to prove decisive in determining who wins Group G.
As for Van Dijk, Sunday’s game was his 83rd in Dutch colors. The Liverpool captain, who also skippers the Netherlands, has missed just two international matches since June 2022 - that’s a run of 37 appearances in the last 39 games.
Thankfully for Liverpool and Arne Slot, the 34-year-old has a week off to prepare for the Reds’ next match at Burnley on Sunday.
Van Dijk has played every minute for Liverpool so far this campaign and faces a run of seven matches in 21 days when club soccer resumes this weekend.
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