Virgil van Dijk has been criticised for his actions during the Netherlands' defeat to Morocco at the 2026 World Cup.
The Liverpool star was named in the Netherlands' starting lineup for their last 32 against the AFCON champions at Monterrey Stadium.
Ronald Koeman's side took the lead in the 72th minute through Cody Gakpo, but were pegged back in stoppage-time when Issa Diop headed home.
The match was decided on spot-kicks, and it was Morocco who eventually triumphed as the Netherlands crashed out of the competition.
Virgil van Dijk Criticised For Lack of Leadership
Virgil van Dijk in action for Netherlands at the 2026 World CupFelipe Mondino/Sipa USA via Reuters
Van Dijk's leadership during the match has come into question, with many thinking that he should have taken a penalty in the shootout.
Six Netherlands players took penalties, with Justin Kluivert, Quinten Timber and Crysencio Summerville the three players to fail to score from the spot.
The 34-year-old has taken penalties in high pressure situations before, famously scoring a penalty in Liverpool's Carabao Cup final victory over Chelsea in 2022. He also took a penalty against Argentina at the 2022 World Cup, which was saved by Emiliano Martinez.
ESPN pundit Craig Burley thinks he should have stepped up and took responsibility. He said: "I think with the inexperienced players, and they did have quite a few inexperienced players off the bench, Holland, that is, in the game at the end.
"I think I'd really want my skipper Van Djk to step up and take the responsibility of a penalty kick. He's a good striker of the ball. Unless he was injured, I don't think there's any excuse for your skipper to stand up and take that pressure. But he did not."
He added: "If I'm Ronald Koeman, I think I want my skipper to step up and take the heat and take the pressure on my shoulders and take a penalty kick because centre-halves can take penalties."
Some football fans have been even more brutal on social media. One fan said: "Embarrassing that captain Van Dijk isn’t stepping up for a penalty. So, so cowardly. Just watched his nation get knocked out."
A second commented: "Van Dijk, a mentality monster and captain, should’ve stepped up in the penalty shootout," while a third wrote: "The captain. The leader. Van Dijk watched inexperienced players step up while he hid from taking a penalty for his country. That’s a stain on his legacy that isn’t going away."
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Virgil van Djk Speaks Out After Netherlands' Exit
Virgil van DijkREUTERS/Eloisa Sanchez
Van Dijk defended his side's defensive game plan after the match. He told NOS, per vi.nl: "[It's] Very difficult to analyze it now.
"An intense match. I think we were well organised defensively. They basically couldn't find the open man between the lines. So the game plan worked, of course. I think we scored a good goal. Ultimately, in injury time, you get pushed back. Then it goes to penalties; unfortunately, we get knocked out.
"If you look at almost all the big teams at the World Cup: they also just drop back and they also wait for the right moment to apply pressure. We trained hard on this for two days; at times it went well. Of course, there are always things that can be improved, but anyway: that doesn't help us right now."