Virgil van Dijk wasn't interested in entertaining the question after being pressed about Erling Haaland in an interview
Erling Haaland of Manchester City heads the ball away from a corner watched by Virgil van Dijk of Liverpool during the Premier League match between Manchester City and Liverpool at Etihad Stadium
Erling Haaland reportedly had quite an impact on Virgil van Dijk(Image: 2025 Simon Stacpoole/Offside)
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Erling Haaland reportedly left Virgil van Dijk in no mood to talk after encountering the Manchester City striker for the first time. The 25-year-old is poised to spearhead the attack for Norway in their World Cup 2026 last-16 encounter with Brazil on Sunday.
A triumph over the five-time world champions would propel the Scandinavian nation into the quarter-finals for only the third occasion in their history and first since 1998. Haaland has already netted five times in his maiden World Cup campaign, with Brazil's backline bracing themselves for their sternest examination yet in trying to curtail the prolific forward's impact.
It was a challenge that even Van Dijk found demanding when coming up against the Norwegian during his spell at RB Salzburg. The Austrian outfit visited Anfield for a Champions League fixture in 2019 and found themselves trailing 3-0 after 36 minutes.
Salzburg were in an unfortunate predicament as they stared down a humiliating thrashing but somehow mustered the determination to avoid disaster. A remarkable fightback was ignited by the visitors as Hwang Hee-chan, former Reds player Takumi Minamino and Haaland netted to level proceedings at 3-3 with more than half an hour remaining.
The Reds ultimately secured a 4-3 victory courtesy of Mohamed Salah's decisive goal, but the three points did little to ease Van Dijk's frustration afterwards, according to former Norway striker Jan Aage Fjortoft.
Virgil van Dijk of Liverpool clears the ball under pressure from Erling Haaland
Virgil van Dijk has enjoyed many battles with Erling Haaland(Image: Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images)
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The footballer-turned-pundit revealed that the Dutchman departed abruptly when he tried to get the defender's thoughts on Haaland's display. Fjortoft told the Blood Red podcast in 2020: "The first time I saw him (Haaland) live was at Anfield when he came on and I was amazed that this young kid created so much space.
"He scored one goal but he could have had three or four – he was unbelievable. I was amazed how he created space and how I define that is how his runs are wise and experienced.
"After the game, I interviewed Van Dijk, who I always like to interview because he is a gentleman, and I said, 'I have to ask you about the Norwegian, Erling Haaland.' And he just said, 'Well, we won the game.'
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Virgil van Dijk #4 of Netherlands looks dejected as he walks down the tunnel after the team's defeat and elimination from the FIFA World Cup 2026 after the Round of 32 match between Netherlands and Morocco
The Liverpool captain exited the World Cup with the Netherlands in the round of 32(Image: FIFA via Getty Images)
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"So I said, 'Yes, but what do you think about him?' Van Dijk said, 'I didn't see a lot of him,' and he was a bit angry because there was some mistakes done. And I said, 'It's a good sign for a striker when a defender says he didn't see him!' – and then he just went away, Van Dijk."
While Haaland has led Norway's campaign in North America, the Reds captain suffered a challenging tournament with the Netherlands. They were held to a 2-2 draw in their opening group stage fixture against Japan, with Van Dijk netting the opener.
They then reeled off back-to-back victories, thrashing Sweden 5-1 before seeing off Tunisia 3-1. However, topping the group failed to earn them a straightforward knockout tie, as they were pitted against Morocco - who had finished as runners-up behind Brazil - in the next round. The African side ultimately eliminated the Dutch in a penalty shootout.