Virgil van Dijk has insisted he won’t watch any more of the Qatar World Cup after the Netherlands suffered a heartbreaking penalty shoot-out defeat by Argentina.
“Everything had gone in, until tonight,” Virgil van Dijk said about their penalty practice sessions. “But my spot-kick could have been more in the corner.”
Louis van Gaal’s side crashed out of the World Cup quarterfinals after a heroic comeback saw the game end 2-2 before the penalty shootout saw Argentina progress.
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Liverpool’s van Dijk stepped up first for Holland and saw his effort saved by Argentina’s Emiliano Martinez and, upon reflection, he admits the shot ‘could have been more in the corner’.
Speaking to Dutch outlet NOS, captain van Dijk said: ‘We trained a lot for it. Everything had gone in. Until tonight. Then you will be very disappointed. That hurts a lot.’
When asked on his spot-kick miss, the defender said: ‘That has to do with all sorts of things. It was hard. Could have been a little more in the corner.
‘Unfortunately, those things happen in football. It’s time to practice again and I’m going to do that,’ said Van Dijk.
The Dutch centre-half took the first penalty of the shootout – which Martinez saved – before Argentina’s Lionel Messi stepped up to the plate and dispatched his second spot-kick of the night.
