Only two Liverpool players will compete in the final of Euro 2024 after England defeated the Netherlands on Wednesday.
The Dutch boasted three Liverpool stars in their squad, but were ousted by England following a last minute Ollie Watkins goal.
The loss saw Virgil van Dijk, Cody Gakpo and Ryan Gravenberch exit the competition, while Trent Alexander-Arnold and Joe Gomez go on to the final.
Of the five players, just two got on the pitch in Dortmund. Van Dijk was left furious at the refereeing performance while the Dutch media were indifferent about Gakpo’s display.
With the Netherlands players sickened by Watkins’ late winner, Alexander-Arnold went to console his Anfield teammates.
Virgil van Dijk consoled by England players
Van Dijk in particular looked to have taken the semi-final loss hard. The Liverpool captain also wears the armband for his nation and is perhaps the only truly world-class player in their current squad.
Having been robbed of the chance to feature at Euro 2016 through a failure to qualify and 2020 after being injured by Jordan Pickford, this was Van Dijk’s first European Championship.
Given that he’ll be 37 by the time the next one rolls around, it could well be his last, too.
As a result, Van Dijk was clearly angry when he spoke to reporters after the full-time whistle.
Before that though, a video posted by Spanish outlet MARCA on X showed how the Reds skipper reacted to seeing both Alexander-Arnold and Jude Bellingham on the pitch at the end of the game.
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To Bellingham’s credit, he is spotted shaking the hands of all the Dutch players before even heading off to celebrate the win with his England teammates.
When he finally gets around to Van Dijk, the Real Madrid midfielder gives the big defender’s hand a slap before embracing him in a full-on hug.
Alexander-Arnold comes in next, and the Scouser lingers slightly longer in a cuddle with his clubmate before wandering off the other way.
When will Virgil van Dijk return to training?
Had things gone differently, Van Dijk and Bellingham could have been teammates at this stage.
Bellingham was a top target for Liverpool before he decided to join Madrid last summer. They would have been a great pair for the Reds.
Trent, obviously, is a long-time colleague of Virgil and is of course vice-captain, the Dutchman’s right-hand man in the dressing room.
When the pair eventually return to the AXA Training Centre later this summer, there may be some banter about Wednesday’s game, but there’ll be no animosity lingering.
Quite when we’ll see them link up still remains to be seen. Liverpool tend to give players around three weeks break after summer international duty, meaning both will be back by the first week of August.
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