When Virgil van Dijk showcased his long passing range while playing for the Netherlands national team, he received a lot of appreciation from the fans.
After thirty minutes of play in the UEFA Nations League match between Hungary and the Netherlands, Roland Sallai scored the game’s first goal. Despite their dominance, the Dutch team lost the first half at Puskas Arena Park. One statistic from that period stood out.
Van Dijk had an incredible first-half completion rate of 99 passes, 50 more than the whole Hungarian squad managed. However, there was a certain pass that stood out.As soon as Sallai put Hungary ahead, the Dutch set up camp in their opponent’s half and Van Dijk got the ball near the halfway mark. The captain of Liverpool casually swung his right boot, and Tijjani Reijnders, racing in behind the Hungarian defense, was set up by a flawless arcing pass.
The pass didn’t lead to anything, but it showed how good Van Dijk is with the ball. Despite his continued status as a top-tier defender on the planet, the 33-year-old was exposed in the second half.
Three minutes after receiving a booking, Van Dijk was fouled again as Kevin Csobot, a forward for Hungary, beat him to a through ball. The Liverpool defender’s dismissal was inevitable under the referee’s standards.
In the 76th minute, the center-back was issued a yellow card; nonetheless, Kevin Csoboth beat him to a through pass. The striker sent the ball racing forward, but Van Dijk clipped his legs, taking out Csoboth and forcing the referee to impose his first-ever international red card on the Dutchman.
Since this is out of character for a CB, we should initiate a discussion over van Dijk’s passing skills; he’s completely bonkers.screenshot.twitter.com/22TYHWWToB A
This sentence was tweeted by AS on October 11, 2024.
Since he will be suspended for Liverpool’s Nations League match against Germany, Van Dijk will be able to return to next week’s match against Chelsea rested. As the international break in October approaches, the Reds find themselves atop the Premier League standings, having suffered just one defeat in all competitions thus far in the 2024–25 season.