A number of Liverpool players were involved in international action on Sunday
Virgil van Dijk of the Netherlands and Kostas Tsimikas of Greece
Virgil van Dijk of the Netherlands and Kostas Tsimikas of Greece(Image: Getty Images)
View Image
Virgil van Dijk has called out his team-mates after the Netherlands’ 2-1 win over Serbia, admitting the Dutch were not good enough in their second Nations League match on Sunday.
Xavi’s side lost Cody Gakpo to an ankle injury early on in Belgrade, with the Liverpool forward now set to undergo a scan on Monday, before Mexx Meerdink opened the scoring from the penalty spot on the half-hour mark.
Luka Jovic equalised shortly after the restart, before Meerdrink clinched a narrow victory midway through the second half.
Speaking after the final whistle, Van Dijk admitted he was not satisfied with the Netherlands’ performance.
"I have a less good feeling than after the last match,"Van Dijk told the Dutch media after the full-time whistle. "I think this was a bad game from us.
"We could make it easier for ourselves if we finished the chances, but we aren't doing that and then it can become dangerous. We are allowed to be critical of each other, there is certainly still work to be done.
"We are happy with the three points, but we can still be critical of ourselves because it was not our best performance. We gave away moments that we need to review and improve."
Van Dijk completed the full 90 minutes for the Netherlands, but the Dutch media tore into his performance following the game.
Ryan Gravenberch started the game but was replaced in the 67th minute by Guus Til, who set up the winner within two minutes of his introduction.
Reds team-mate Jeremie Frimpong was left out of the Netherlands matchday squad entirely, with the Dutchman suffering the same fate as Rio Ngumoha and Victor Munoz from England’s meeting with Spain the day before.
Meanwhile, Kostas Tsimikas helped Greece to a famous 1-0 victory away at Jurgen Klopp’s Germany.
The left-back completed the full 90 minutes, and engaged in a heated altercation with Karim Adeyemi at one point as the pair had to be separated.
Dimitrios Kourbelis came off the bench to score a 74th minute winner for the 2004 European champions to inflict a first defeat on Klopp following the former Liverpool manager’s appointment as Germany head coach.
Tsimikas caught up with his former boss after the final whistle, and was delighted to be reunited.
"The most fantastic feeling was seeing him after a long time," he told Sport 24. "I’ve definitely been through a lot with him, there’s a relationship of love and respect between us.
"As I told him, I did what he taught me, and I beat him with his own weapons. He was laughing and said, ‘Congratulations’.
"I’ll see him in a week. Now we’ll rest because in three days we’re playing another final."
Tsimikas would later take to social media to mark the victory as he wrote on Instagram: “For all of Greece to go up and down”.
Florian Wirtz came on as a 65th minute substitute for Germany, having had to be called up prematurely to the squad following injuries to Jamal Musiala and Kai Havertz.
However, the German media were not impressed with his performance as he was lambasted for another "inconspicuous" showing.
Elsewhere, Lewis Koumas came on as a 67th minute substitute for Wales as they lost 2-0 away to Denmark. The Liverpool forward at least appeared to come through his outing unscathed, and could now be on standby for a full Premier League debut against Man City when the Reds return to club action after seeing both Gakpo and Alexander Isak suffer injuries during the international break.
Should the pair miss out, the 21-year-old would be Andoni Iraola’s only available recognised senior centre-forward.
And at youth level, Erik Farkas was a late substitute for England Under-18s as they beat Egypt 2-1 in the UEFA Friendship Cup in Switzerland.