Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk
Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk has been accused of ‘ruining Dutch football’ as the fallout from the Netherlands’ defeat to Morocco picks up pace today.
Journalist Valentijn Driessen does the accusing in De Telegraaf. He goes straight for the Liverpool star and Ronald Koeman in an article that does not hold back on criticism of either.
Liverpool star eviscerated
The journalist believes that the defeat on penalties to the African nation was a ‘dreadful exit’ for the Dutch national team, who have departed the World Cup at the first knockout stage.
Driessen believes that despite not actually losing the game in 90 minutes, the Netherlands have lost in more ways that one. The biggest of those was the way it ‘presented itself to the world’.
He labels the team as ‘defensive and lacking in any initiative’, believing that their style was a ‘great disgrace’. He then accuses Koeman and his captain, Liverpool’s Virgil Van Dijk, of having ‘betrayed everything our national team stands for’.
According to the journalist, the Dutch went with their ultra-defensive style because of the 34-year-old. He had failed to get his ‘defensive act together’ during the group stage, leading to the change.
Van Dijk deficiencies
Driessen says that surrounding him with more and more defenders ultimately didn’t hide the fact that his ‘time is up’. Whether he means on the international stage, or in football entirely, isn’t clear. Either way, he’s no fan of the Liverpool star anymore.
Indeed, he thinks he was to blame for Morocco’s goal too. He insists that Virgil Van Dijk was ‘out of position’, and ‘had completely lost track’ of his opponent for the equaliser in the 90th minute. That followed the trend from the group stages when he lost track of the Japanese, Swedes and Tunisians and conceded chances.
That, for him, is further proof that Van Dijk’s time is over. In fact, he insists that whoever replaces Ronald Koeman as manager need not bother booking a ticket to Liverpool to speak to the defender. Extending his career until the Euros in 2028 would be a mistake.
Instead, he believes it’s time for fresh air and a fresh start. That means sacking Koeman and moving on from Virgil van Dijk too.
It’s another low point in a tough year for the Liverpool man. And now it seems his nation is ready to turn their back on him. Some, like Driessen, already have.
🇪🇸 Víctor Muñoz | Back training with Spain, Liverpool will obviously have concerns of another relapse https://t.co/Z4Mk6ZO5dv #lfc
— Sport Witness (@Sport_Witness) June 30, 2026