The sight of a young player struggling to make his mark on international duty was not the only thing that frustrated a pundit watching on from the sidelines. With one of Liverpool’s most experienced players sharing a pitch with the 20-year-old, he could have been forgiven for expecting a bit more help from the whizzkid’s veteran team-mate.
This is not the first time Wim Kieft has taken issue with the Liverpool ace either.
Back in 2020, the former Ajax hero sensationally labelled Virgil van Dijk ‘lazy and nonchalant’, accusing a player he felt had a lot to learn of performing like ‘the finished article’.
Four years on, and arguably now the undisputed king of centre-halves, few could question Van Dijk’s ability. But his attitude, at least in his role as the captain of the Dutch national team, continues to come under the microscope back home, Kieft questioning why Van Dijk did not do more to help 20-year-old Xavi Simons through a difficult display against Scotland last week.
Virgil van Dijk’s role as Netherlands captain questioned
“It is hardly conceivable that Xavi Simons will then have a place in the starting line-up (at Euro 2024),” Kieft tells De Telegraaf, the RB Leipzig talisman enduring a frustrating evening even as the Netherlands stormed to a 4-0 win.
“He lost the ball and played like a junior against the Scots. Not for the first time in Oranje.
“What is disappointing from a distance is that you don’t see any of the experienced players like Virgil van Dijk, Georginio Wijnaldum or Memphis Depay calling someone like Simons to order and telling him that he is not on a school trip.
“That he has to act normal for a while and that patience runs out after two warnings, and he realises that he should not dream of making such childish mistakes again a third time.”
Van Dijk has captained the Netherlands since 2018. And while some may consider the Dutch potential dark horses for the upcoming European Championships, it remains to be seen if Ronald Koeman can strike the right balance with regards to a squad split largely between 30-something veterans such as Van Dijk, Depay and Daley Blind and rising stars as yet unproven at such a level.
Tijjani Reijnders, Jeremy Frimpong and Xavi Simons, to name three.
Liverpool ace on the wrong end of Germany reverse
In a mixed international break for the Netherlands, Koeman’s side followed up that 4-0 victory over Scotland – a game far more even than the scoreline suggests – with a 2-1 defeat by Julian Nagelsmann’s much-improved Germany side in Frankfurt.
“If you concede two goals from set pieces, that’s really disappointing,” Van Dijk sighs, speaking to NOS after Niklas Fullkrug’s late winner. “You put so much energy into it and you work hard together. Unfortunately, set pieces are also part of (the game), but it is unpleasant.”
“We all want to win and ultimately that’s what you play for. It was there, but it’s unfortunate that you concede two from set pieces.”
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