"Could have been a little more in the corner" - Virgil van Dijk comments on penalty shootout loss against Argentina
Netherlands captain Virgil van Dijk has opened up about his side's penalty shootout loss against Argentina at the 2022 FIFA World Cup on Friday (9 December). The Dutch centre-back claims the team put in a lot of practice for a potential penalty shootout, despite losing to La Albiceleste.
Argentina were 2-0 up late in the second half after Nahuel Molina scored in the first half and Lionel Messi converted a penalty after the break. The Netherlands emphatically secured a comeback as Wout Weghorst bagged a brace, scoring the equalizer seconds before the final whistle.
ARGENTINA DEFEAT NETHERLANDS ON PENALTIES
TWO. MORE. WINS 🇦🇷 https://t.co/nzLroOD9YG
The game remained a stalemate for the entirety of extra time, resulting in a penalty shootout. Van Dijk stepped up to the spot for the Netherlands' first penalty. The Dutch centre-back's shot was saved by Emiliano Martinez, boosting Argentina's confidence.
Lionel Messi then scored his second penalty of the night and Argentina's first in the shootout. The Netherlands were unable to recover after Steven Berghuis missed the second penalty, resulting in a 4-3 loss to Louis van Gaal's outfit.
Following the fixture, Van Dijk admitted that his penalty could've been placed better, particularly more towards the corner. He told Dutch outlet NOS:
"We trained a lot for it. Everything had gone in. Until tonight. Then you will be very disappointed. 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 going to be practiced again and that's what I'm going to do."
Van Dijk bodies Argentina midfielder Leandro Paredes as massive fight breaks out at FIFA World Cup clash
The Netherlands were knocked out by Argentina in the quarter-finals of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. The encounter between the two sides saw tensions boil over in the final minutes of regulation time when Leandro Paredes made a poor challenge on Nathan Ake.
When the foul was made, the Netherlands bench sprung up to urge the referee to give the free-kick. Paredes then punted the ball towards the opposition bench, which could have potentially injured the Dutch players.
Netherlands vs. Argentina saw 16 yellow cards—equalling a World Cup record 😳 https://t.co/cufbdS91kQ
After his reckless kick, the Dutch substitutes rushed to Paredes before Van Dijk shoved the Argentine midfielder, who subsequently fell to the ground.
This caused a huge brawl between the two sides on the pitch, escalating emotions in what was already a tense fixture. Paredes and Van Dijk were the only two players to be cautioned by the referee following the scuffle.