Virgil van Dijk’s World Cup dreams were ended as the Netherlands were beaten on penalties by Morocco, and his international future is now up in the air
Virgil van Dijk received praise from an old rival(Image: AFP or licensors)
Olivier Giroud has named Virgil van Dijk among the three best center-backs he faced during his career.
Giroud and Van Dijk did battle on plenty of occasions during the Frenchman’s time in the Premier League. and Giroud accepted that the Liverpool captain got the better of him in most of the games they played against each other.
In a BBC Sport column, which was published before Van Dijk suffered World Cup heartbreak with the Netherlands against Morocco, Giroud said: “Virgil is a player I know very well.
“I know he has named me as his toughest opponent – he called me his ‘bogeyman’ because of the goals I scored against him – but we have got a mutual respect.
“I would put him in my top three of toughest defenders I have faced too, along with Spain’s Sergio Ramos and Portugal’s Pepe, and we have had some great duels down the years.
“In the past, my friends have shown me a funny picture of him which always makes me laugh – you can see it here below – where we are having a physical battle. I think I won it!
“I have just chested the ball and look quite cool and composed, while Virgil is bouncing off me, and falling down like that.
“I wish that happened every time we played each other – but it was maybe the one time in 10 that I won our duel and that’s why it is funny. There must be many other pictures where he is up, and it is me down on the floor!
Olivier Giroud and Van Dijk during a game between Liverpool and Chelsea(Image: 2018 Getty Images)
“That photo was taken in 2018 and Virgil has had a few injuries since then, but he is still strong and of course he is still as clever and composed as ever.”
Van Dijk will now go on vacation before linking up with his Liverpool teammates in a few weeks’ time ahead of the start of the 2026-27 season.
It remains unclear whether the Netherlands’ game against Morocco will end up being Van Dijk’s final game of his international career.
Van Dijk turns 35 next week, and he will be 39 by the time the 2030 World Cup final takes place, so there is a very strong possibility that his dreams of winning the tournament during his career are over.
Van Dijk did not take a penalty during the shootout loss to Morocco due to a calf injury, and Liverpool’s fans will hope the issue is not serious and that he will be fine for the start of the new season.
