Virgil van Dijk withdraws from international duty ahead of Liverpool’s visit to Southampton on Sunday
Virgil van Dijk has withdrawn from the Netherlands squad. He will now return to Liverpool earlier than planned as the focus turns to Sunday’s trip to Southampton.
The Oranje captain played the full game on Saturday as Ronald Koeman’s side beat Dominik Szoboszlai’s Hungary 4-0 in the UEFA Nations League. And, with the Dutch having already qualified for the quarter-finals, Van Dijk will now report back for club duty. The Reds captain will begin his work toward the weekend’s visit to the Saints, before a critically important week of action that sees them entertain both Real Madrid and Manchester City.
Koeman confirmed that both Van Dijk and Barcelona midfielder Frenkie De Jong will report back to their clubs and won’t feature in the Netherlands’ meeting with Bosnia on Tuesday evening in Zenica.
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In a quote carried by Netherlands’ official social media accounts, Koeman said: “For both Frenkie and Virgil it is better for them to leave the training camp at this moment.
“That decision was taken on medical grounds, with of course the interest of the players coming first.”
It means Van Dijk will now have more time toward preparing for vital period for Liverpool on the other side of the international break. After Sunday’s trip to his former club Southampton is followed up by a huge week against Madrid and City at Anfield, the Premier League and Champions League leaders then travel to Newcastle United on December 4 before the last-ever Goodison Park derby with Everton three days later.
Speaking after the win over Hungary on Saturday evening, Van Dijk said: “I want to do my thing, play my best game ever and be important for the group every time I’m on and off the pitch. I want to contribute one hundred percent to that every day.
“We’re still growing, I think. There are phases in matches in which things are going very well, especially in possession. But there are also moments in the transition where we can be better defensively by thinking a little more defensively and playing more compactly.
“It’s just not easy, because you’re used to different things at your club. Then it takes some getting used to here. At the end of the day, it’s all about the result. And 4-0 in an important game is just really good.
“I am very satisfied with how we have recovered. We kept a clean sheet. But it’s clear that the rest of the defence wasn’t always good in the beginning. (Dominik) Szoboszlai (Liverpool team-mate) was just wandering around and that’s a nuisance. Overall, it was a well-deserved victory. It’s good that we scored four times, kept a clean sheet and qualified for the quarter-finals. The latter is the most important thing, especially at this stage of the season.
“I think we can get our act together with any opponent that awaits us (in the quarter-finals). But first we play one more game this year, on Tuesday in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and we will work towards that towards the international matches in March.”
