Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk has shared his feelings ahead of facing Lionel Messi in the World Cup.
Van Dijk’s Holland will take on Argentina and Messi in the quarter final on Friday. And in quotes from Reuters, the Liverpool man has previewed the challenge ahead of his team.
“It is an honour to play against him [Messi],” said Virgil. “It is not me against him, or the Netherlands against him, but the Netherlands against Argentina. No one can do it on his own, we will have to come up with a good plan.
“The difficult thing about him is when we are attacking, he is chilling somewhere in a corner or something. You have to be so very sharp in terms of defensive organisation.”
Virgil given chance to cement his legacy
This has all the makings of a blockbuster World Cup knockout game. Two of the very best players of a generation coming up against each other on the biggest stage,
For Messi, he is obviously used to these kinds of battles. Every single defender must look forward to having the chance to thwart him – he is everyone’s cup final.
For those of van Dijk’s stature in the game, perhaps even more so. A good display against arguably the best player of all time in such a big match will do wonders for your legacy.
And Holland have a chance, too. Despite Messi’s brilliance, Argentina are not anywhere close to being unbeatable. Saudi Arabia proved that on Matchday 1, and Australia weren’t far from an upset last weekend either.
Louis van Gaal’s side have more quality than both of those teams and may be quietly confident. In Cody Gakpo they have one of the tournament’s outstanding performers, while van Dijk adds star quality at the back.
Coming up against the best of the best will surely bring out the competitor in the Liverpool man, too.
He has been far too passive far too often this season for the Reds. But he usually stands up in the biggest games. With pride and a place in the final four on the line, van Dijk will give it everything he’s got.
Virgil will need to be the leader of Holland’s plan to stop Messi this Friday. The 30-year-old has done it before, can he shut down the little magician and end his World Cup dreams? We’ll soon find out.
Receive a digest of our best Liverpool content each week direct to your mailbox
