Ex-Liverpool defender blames Virgil van Dijk in Netherlands loss and questions leadership

Virgil van Dijk received the brunt of the blame for the Netherlands’ 3-2 loss to Austria at Euro 2024 after making a brutal mistake during the match’s deciding goal.

With the contest tied 2-2 heading into the final 10 minutes, Van Dijk was caught several yards behind his backline as he played Marcel Sabitzer onside. The Borussia Dortmund midfielder didn’t let the golden positioning go to waste, firing a shot off into the roof of the net and just out of the reach of goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen.

Former Liverpool stars were quick to call out Van Dijk for the mental error. While commenting over the match-winning score on BBC Radio 5, Ex-Reds left-back Stephen Warnock said: “The Dutch just don't learn at all. Virgil van Dijk is far too deep, he plays Marcel Sabitzer on. Sabitzer rifles the ball with his left foot past Bart Verbruggen at the near post. My word, what a game this is. They've taken the lead for a third time, Austria.”

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Ex-Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy expressed a similar sentiment, asserting that the Netherlands didn’t deserve to win the match with the myriad of miscues it committed. “The keeper Bart Verbruggen is a bit low for me, but it's still a wonderful finish,” he told BBC Two of Sabitzer’s goal. “They are too easy to play against the Dutch.”

On the heels of the disheartening defeat, Van Dijk - who finished the match without a single tackle or interception - struggled to find the words to describe his feelings. "I don't have an explanation for this performance," he conceded.

Van Dijk’s dejected response did not sit right with former Netherlands star Van der Vaart, who implored the Reds veteran to assume a louder voice in the locker room. "We played the way Virgil van Dijk just talked!" he said. "We just had to watch a disgraceful performance! I want the captain from our country to show some passion!"

Thanks to Wednesday’s lackluster performance, the Dutch sunk to third place in Group D, while Austria surged to the top of the group following France's 1-1 draw with Poland. Though the Netherlands already punched its ticket to the round of 16, Warnock questioned if the team has the leaders in place to fix the obvious flaws that’ve been exposed.

“The Netherlands don't look like they have got any leadership in the ranks to try and organise it,” he said. “They are not really asking questions of each other.”

The latest wave of criticism is nothing new for Van Dijk or his Dutch teammates. Speaking to Algemeen Dagblad, the 32-year-old insisted that he doesn’t allow the outside noise get to him.

“You don’t have control over people’s opinions. One person may have very high expectations of us, while the other may have said before this European Championship that ‘they will be back in the Netherlands in no time,’” he said. “If you listen to everyone who has something to say, your feelings will continue to fluctuate. That’s part of it. That is also the case at the club. It’s football, everyone has an opinion.”