Virgil van Dijk hits back after being branded ‘disgraceful’ at Euro 2024

Liverpool and Netherlands defender Virgil van Dijk has been the target of severe criticism for his nation’s stuttering performances at Euro 2024 and has now come out fighting

Virgil van Dijk has demanded instant improvement from himself in the face of scathing criticism.

The Liverpool defender has played every minute for the Netherlands at Euro 2024. But performances haven’t quite been as high as usual.

Ronald Koeman ’s men just about scraped through the group stages with four points. They qualified as one of the best third-placed teams.

Speaking ahead of his side’s last-16 clash with surprise package Romania, Van Dijk has called for improvement across the board, with him at the forefront. “It goes without saying that I have to take responsibility now,” he said in a press conference.

“We have spoken a lot in the last 48 hours and some harsh words have been spoken. That is of course necessary, because some things have certainly happened. I feel like it helped, but it’s really time to show that.

“It makes perfect sense. I’m going to work on that too. I blame myself too. I’m not crazy, I know when things need to be improved. That’s what I’m working on. That is the basis for getting better.

“The last match was definitely not my best, but personally that has not happened often this season. It is important to me that it stops now. That is the responsibility I take now. That responsibility is very great, especially at Oranje. And the criticism affects me.”

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One man in particular who has been particularly harsh towards Van Dijk is former Spurs and Netherlands midfielder Rafael van der Vaart. The Liverpool defender was blamed for Marcel Sabitzer’s winner in the 3-2 defeat to Austria.

And asked for his assessment after the game, Van Dijk cut a particularly downbeat figure. That is something that did not go down well with Van der Vaart.

He said: “We played the way Virgil van Dijk just talked! We just had to watch a disgraceful performance! I want the captain from our country to show some passion!”

Boss Ronald Koeman also tore into his own players in the aftermath of the defeat. He said: “I can list quite a few mistakes. We started very badly. We did not defend well. We were not aggressive, there was a lack of pressure and we lost the ball as well, particularly at the start so it was really very bad.

“The players ran a lot, but not in the positions so it was awful, very bad. We did not control the match. The match against France was reasonable as a team, but today it was appalling.”