Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk sent a message to Ibrahima Konate ahead of the World Cup final today.
Konate may or may not start for France as they take on Argentina in Doha. The 23-year-old has reportedly been struggling with illness ahead of the game. But, taking to Instagram yesterday evening, Konate looked to be back in training at least.
Posting a snap of himself smiling whilst in France training gear, the Liverpool centre-back looks ready for the biggest game of his career.
And there to lend his support was Reds teammate Van Dijk. Simply posting two flame emojis, it’s clear what the Dutchman thinks of his young centre-back partner. Do us proud, Ibou.
Reds cheering on Konate in Qatar
There will no doubt be a hint of ‘what could have been’ amongst a few of Konate’s Liverpool teammates right now. Half a dozen of them will believe they could have been in their colleague’s position.
But that doesn’t mean they won’t be delighted for the Reds No.5. He has been brilliant when given the chance during the World Cup and absolutely deserves his shot at footballing immortality.
And few will be cheering Konate on quite as ferociously as Van Dijk. The Netherlands captain was at the heart of a hot-tempered loss against Argentina in the quarter-final.
It was Virgil who ran half the length of the pitch to sit Leandro Paredes down after he belted the ball at the Holland substitutes last week.
The 31-year-old is too composed-a character to have been drawn into the penalty shootout shenanigans that followed. But he’ll still take a certain amount of pleasure in seeing the loud-mouthed Emi Martinez humbled by Konate and co.
It could go the other way, of course, and Ibou will need some picking up if it does. With role models like Van Dijk around to lean on though, that shouldn’t be a problem.
Having declared that he won’t watch any of the tournament following the Netherlands exit, Virgil may not be tuned in today. You can bet he’ll be the first to congratulate Konate if France come out on top, though.
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